


OwlHousetober Ficlets

by whitebeltwriter



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Big Hero 6 make an appearance, Characters will be added as they appear - Freeform, Comedy, F/F, Fluff, One Shot Collection, One Word Prompts, OwlHousetober, Snippets, Viney/Emira mentioned, let's see how long I last, never done a month of these before, see Chapter 1 to see who's in each chapter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:01:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 32
Words: 25,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26759149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whitebeltwriter/pseuds/whitebeltwriter
Summary: One-shots inspired by hellpuppy-king's prompts for OwlHousetober
Relationships: Amity Blight & Gus Porter, Amity Blight & Willow Park, Amity Blight/Luz Noceda, Eda Clawthorne & Camilia Noceda, Eda Clawthorne & Hooty, Eda Clawthorne & King & Luz Noceda, Eda Clawthorne & Lilith Clawthorne, Eda Clawthorne & Luz Noceda, Eda Clawthorne & Owlbert, Edric Blight & Emira Blight, Edric Blight & Emira Blight & Gus Porter, Lilith Clawthorne & Luz Noceda, Luz Noceda & Gus Porter
Comments: 104
Kudos: 409





	1. Prompt List

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> List of word prompts for OwlHousetober as supplied by hellpuppy-king

  1. Cursed (Amity, Emira & Edric)
  2. Shapeshift (Amity, Emira & Edric - Amity/Luz)
  3. Potions (Lilith & Luz)
  4. Magic (Amity/Luz)
  5. Fears (Amity & Gus)
  6. Palisman (Eda & Owlbert)
  7. Costume (Amity/Luz)
  8. Coven (Amity)
  9. Masquerade (Amity/Luz)
  10. Books (Eda & Hooty)
  11. Skull (Amity/Luz)
  12. Plants (Willow)
  13. Rain (Amity/Luz)
  14. Illusion (Gus, Emira & Edric)
  15. Sports (Eda & Camila)
  16. Demons (Luz, King & Eda)
  17. Friendship (Amity & Willow)
  18. Conjuring (Lilith & Eda)
  19. Mask (Luz & Eda)
  20. Crossover (The Owl House & Big Hero 6)
  21. Oath (Amity & Eda, Luz & Camila)
  22. Garden (Lilith & Eda)
  23. Fierce (Belos)
  24. Spell (Luz)
  25. Sweater (Amity/Luz)
  26. Moon (Luz & Eda & King)
  27. Memories (Luz/Amity)
  28. Cards (Owl House Occupants plus Hexsquad)
  29. Fashion (Gus & Luz)
  30. Letters (Luz & Lilith)
  31. Candies




	2. Cursed

Amity groaned as she allowed her head drop against her tabletop with a thunk.

It was official; she was cursed.

She’d been trying to accomplish her goal  _ all week, _ but each and every time– without fail – _ something  _ would come up and she’d have to abort.

First it was her scroll ringing with a message from her mother to go straight home for an update to the family portrait.

Then it was one of the multi-track kids calling for (admittedly much needed) help.

_ Then _ it was a return of the school pixie infestation problem.

And between all of those were dozens of moments where she had a chance but her courage would shrivel and die like a garbage slug caught in the surf.

She had come  _ so close _ but had yet to actually-

“~Oh Mit~tens!” Amity let out a sigh that seemed to reverberate throughout her entire slouched frame.

“What do you want, Em?” she asked, not even having enough energy to raise her head. Or be mad that her sister– and probably brother as well –had barged into her room unannounced, yet again.

“Wow, not even a howdy-do for your brother?” So she was right. Small victory. 

“Or more accurately, anger at our usual glorious presence in your precious ‘inner sanctum’?” Emira chimed in. “That's not like you. Something happen?”

“Did a fictional character die?” Edric guessed.

“No, she's usually more weepy and angsty when that happens,” his twin argued.

“That was once and only because it caught me by surprise and made no sense for the story,” Amity pouted, turning her head enough to glare at her older siblings with one eye.

“Ha-  _ once _ she says,” Ed chuckled. “Like our rooms don't share a wall.”

“Still, never thought I’d be happy to see that baby kitten glare of yours,” Emira grinned before becoming  _ slightly  _ more serious. “For real though, what’s up? You look like your favorite series got canceled after a cliffhanger or something.”

“Not  _ all _ of my problems are literary-themed,” Amity sulked, facing down on her desk again.

“You were once almost literally sewn into a book for all eternity, but whatever,” Ed shrugged.

“So you admit you  _ do  _ have a problem!” Em pointed out.

_ “No _ , Em,” Amity sarcastically sighed, “I’m just sighing and facedesking just for the heck of it. Did you two need something?”

“Well we were going to ask you to cover for us for dinner–”

“–But trying to solve your teenager problems sounds like more fun!”

“They say as if they weren’t teenagers themselves,” the youngest deadpanned.

“Come on, Amity,” Emira coaxed, taking a seat on her bed.

“Whatever it is, I’m sure we can help somehow!” Edric added, plopping down beside her.

“Or at the very least, not make it any worse!”

Amity mulled it over as she turned her head enough to see them. Their faces  _ seemed  _ genuine and sincere. And they  _ had _ been getting better lately.

Of course that could also mean they were due for a bit of mischief, a small voice in her head pointed out.

But what did she have to lose?

“…okay,” Amity sighed.

“Wait, really?!” Edric exclaimed before Emira elbowed him hard in the ribs.

“We’re all ears, Mittens,” she encouraged. Amity took a deep breath and sat up to fully face them.

“Well...it’s about Luz…”


	3. Shapeshift

Ed and Em decided that the crux of Amity’s problem (namely her inability to contain her gay panic when trying to confess to Luz) was thst she was  _ so _ infatuated with the human she just couldn't function. Therefore, all she needed to do was build up a kind of immunity to Luz so that she could actually get her words out in a coherent way.

Ed suggested (with surprising insight) that the best way to do that was to have him shapeshift into Luz so that Amity could practice.

"Why should it be you? Why can't I do it?" Emira sulkily asked her twin, as all three of them stood in the manor's backyard.

"'Cause I do a better Luz impression, that's why!" Ed boasted.

"When and why did you ever have to do an impression of Luz?" Amity questioned warily.

"Not important," both siblings chimed simultaneously, implying that it was not  only _very_ important, but also incredibly questionable and/or embarrassing. Without further ado, Ed drew a circle and illusioned himself into the spitting image of Luz.

Amity eyed his new form critically. "Well, you certainly  _ look _ like Luz, but really that’s child's play for the two of you."

"Just wait," Ed-Luz grinned cockily (and creepily, still his own voice), before he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Snapping them open, he smiled and began speaking again,  _ this time _ in a voice that sounded  _ exactly  _ like the human in question.

"Hi! I'm Luz the human!" Ed-Luz exclaimed, complete with gestures. "I love things like the Good Witch Azura and all things magic. I'm training hard under Eda the Owl Lady and one day I'm going to become a real witch!"

Amity's and Emira's jaws both dropped before Em started to do a slow clap while her sister actually managed to blush slightly.

" _ Dang _ , Ed! That was spot on!" She cheered at her twin. "When the heck did you learn to do  _ that?" _

Ed-Luz shrugged. "What can I say, I'm just  _ that _ talented."

"Okay, yeah no," Amity grimaced. "You're gonna have to keep the Luz voice up while you look like her. Hearing your voice coming out of her face is just–" the youngest Blight shivered in distress.

"Hmph, everyone's a critic," Ed-Luz pouted, though he did as asked.

"Alright!" Emira clapped excitedly, "Enough chit-chat! Operation Get Mittens a Backbone is a go!"

"We are _not_ calling it that!"

"Accurate though."

* * *

**Forty-five Minutes Later**

"...okay, how's about we take a little break?" Emira suggested as she wearily rubbed her temple.

"Fine by me," Ed agreed, finally letting his Luz-ssion dispel. "I could use a snack. How 'bout you, Mittens?"

"Ughhhh," Amity groaned from where she was folded over her knees. They'd been running scenarios where Amity would confess to "Luz", and each time the witchling would either stutter, backout, and once nearly passed out.

"Oh come on, Mittens, it’s not that bad!" Emira encouraged. 

"Yeah," Ed added, "The whole point of this exercise is to get you more used to Luz so that when you confess for real it'll feel like a piece of cake!"

"Don’t say cake," Amity moaned. "I feel sick enough already."

"We'll get you some water, 'kay?" Em said as they began walking towards the house. "Just remember: this isn't real, it’s just practice."

Amity sent them off with a thumbs up, and the twins headed into the manor.

They'd grabbed some snacks and were about to head back out when there was a knock at the front door.

* * *

Amity took several deep breaths.

"Okay, you can do this. You can do this!" she mumbled to herself, pacing back and forth on the lawn. "It’s just like Em said; it’s not real.  _ She's  _ not real." As she turned back around she spotted the form of Luz making 'her' way back across the lawn towards her.

"Hi Amity! How's it going!" Ed-Luz greeted cheerfully.

Amity took a deep breath and released it before walking up to Luz’s form determinedly. 

"Luz, I-I have something important to ask you," she said, wincing slightly at her stutter but pressing on nonetheless. 

'Luz' blinked in confusion, but soon smiled at her. "Sure Amity.  _ ¿Que pasa?"  _ Amity was thrown by the addition of what sounded like the language the human sometimes slipped into– Ed hadn't tried to imitate it before –but soon brushed it aside. She would do it this time! She would get all of the words out!

"I was wondering, if maybe-"  _ Come on, Amity! You can do this!  _ "‐If maybe you would like to go out sometime. On a date. Wi-with me." The green-headed witchling dropped her head and let out a massive sigh.  _ Little wavy on the landing but you still did it! _

She looked back up to ask Em how well she did, when she finally realized that Emira hadn’t come back when Ed had. Amity turned back to her brother to ask where Em had gone when she saw the look on the human's face shift from shock to a grin that seemed like it could outshine the sun.

"You mean it?!" Ed-Luz beamed, "You want to go out with me? Me?!"

Amity blinked. She hadn't expected Ed to take the charade this far, though she did appreciate him making Luz's response a positive one, as opposed to the harsh rejection that haunted her dreams.

She was about to say as much when movement over Ed-Luz's shoulder caught her eye and she leaned over to get a better look.

There, leaning out the backdoor, waving oh so smugly, was Emira–

–and  _ Edric. _

The witchling stared dumbly for a few seconds, her eyes moving back and forth between her brother by the house and who she'd thought was her brother standing before her.

It eventually clicked in her head that Edric had been in the manor with Emira. And if Edric had been indoors then  _ that _ meant–

"You're not Ed," she stated dumbly to the very real, very  _ present, _ form of her crush.

Whom she had just straight up asked out.

Luz– the  _ real  _ Luz –blinked. "Of course I'm not Ed. Why would you…" the human turned around and saw the twins waving cheerily from the backdoor. "Oh! I get it!" Luz grinned as she snapped her attention back to Amity. "You were using illusion magic to practice...asking me...out…" Her enthusiasm dwindled as the implications dawned on her. "Amity, were you...scared of asking me out?"

Amity, still in a state of shock over the past few minutes, just nodded dumbly. 

"But, why?" Luz chuckled. "If anyone should be afraid of asking the other out, it outta be me," she admitted.

"Wha– _ why?!"  _ Amity asked, beyond confused. 

"Oh come on!" Luz exclaimed before becoming sheepish. "A screw-up like me? Trying to ask out someone as amazing as you? I mean, who  _ wouldn't  _ be nervous?"

"You are  _ not _ a screw-up!" Amity snapped before the rest of what Luz said made it through her brain. "Wait, you think I'm amazing? Wait- YOU WANT TO ASK  _ ME  _ OUT?!"

"Well, yeah?" Luz shrugged, scuffing her sneaker on the ground, her cheeks darker than normal. "Like I said; I think you're amazing. And kind. And just fun to be around, yanno?"

Amity’s brain was buzzing so hard it may as well have been a anar-beehive. She couldn’t believe it. Luz wanted to ask her out. Luz wanted  _ to go out. With her! _

"Soooooo... about that dat–  _ Amity?!" _ Luz dove forward just in time to catch her crush seconds before she dropped to the ground like a sack of blood-apples, much to the twin’s amusement. Edric and Emira made their way over just as Luz got Amity situated comfortably on her lap, the witchling mumbling something about everything being a dream.

"Well that went better than I thought it would!" Emira grinned as she took in the scene.

"I really didn't expect her to get it right on the very first try," Ed commented happily. "We'll have to congratulate her when she decides to rejoin us in the land of the living." Emira nodded before facing the dup on the ground.

"Congrats to you too, Luz!"

"Huh?" the human blinked.

"You got yourself a date with Mittens!"

"Any ideas on where you want to go?"

Luz blinked again. "I got a date with Amity?" Comprehension dawned on her face. "Oh cramity, I got a date with Amity!" Without warning, her eyes rolled back into her skull and she flopped backwards onto the grass, still cradling Amity’s jabbering form.

The twins blinked and looked at eachother.

"Wow."

"They really are made for eachother."

"...They may actually  _ explode  _ the first time they kiss."

One or both of the downed girls let out a groan.

"This is gonna be fun," Ed and Em grinned evilly.


	4. Potions

Being a Hexside student with an “unorthodox” method of spell casting meant that Luz did better in some subjects than in others. She’d improved a lot in the Plant track once she'd gotten the glyph down, and the ice glyph was helpful during Healing classes, but Potions?

Potions seemed determined to continue kicking the human’s butt six ways to Sunday.

“Gah,” Luz groaned as she let her head thunk repeatedly against the kitchen table. “Why is- _thunk­_ -this so- _thunk­_ - _hard?_ “

“Is everything alright, hu-Luz?” Lilith asked as she wandered into the kitchen. “I keep hearing this…thumping sound.”

“Did it sound like this?” Dejectedly, Luz raised and dropped her head, causing the witch to wince.

“Yes, yes it did.” She finally took note of the various stacks of papers and potion components scattered across the table. “What are you working on? If you don’t mind me asking, that is.”

Luz sprawled dramatically back into her seat with another groan. _“Homework._ Which normally would excite me because it’s homework about _magic_ , but it’s potions! It doesn’t even involve _magic_ -magic; it’s just mixing stuff together to make new stuff. It’s basically cooking! I can cook! Why can’t I do this?!"

“Well, it’s a little bit more involved than just ‘mixing stuff together’, accurate as that statement is,” Lilith said, as she crossed her arms in contemplation. “It requires an… _understanding,_ of what each ingredient can bring to the table, so to speak. For example,” she walked closer and picked up what looked to Luz like an orange onion with faint yellow striping, “This coral-ion does wonders for burns, but can paralyze you if you use too much. So it’s best when paired with crushed flam-elon seeds to limit the spread of its influence.”

“Ohhhhh,” Luz’s gaze widened in understanding, _“That’s_ why that kid froze up halfway through class. I just thought he was having a panic attack.”

“…Why would your first thought be panic attack?”

“Because my potion teacher– Ms. Jenkin-Myer –is nothing short of terrifying.”

“Ms. Jenkin-Myer?!” Lilith asked aghast. “She’s still at Hexside? That woman was ancient when our _parents_ started attending.”

“Mhm. And she is _very particular_ about how she wants certain potions to be brewed.”

“Of course she does,” the witch rolled her eyes, “Nevermind the fact that she has this horrible habit of giving assignments without _actually_ explaining how to do them! _Ohhhh_ Eda used to hate her guts.” She shook her head and gestured at Luz’s homework. “Small wonder you’re struggling if _she’s_ your teacher. I think Eda would have flunked out the first year if I hadn’t tutored her.”

“You tutored Eda?!” Luz asked with bright eyes.

“Naturally. She wasn’t the only Clawthorne in the Potions track after all,” Lilith boasted.

“Theennnn, do you think you could give me a hand?” the human asked shyly, rolling a pencil back and forth on the table.

“Me?”

“Yeah, it’s just– Eda and King went out to excavate another trash slug and I really want to get this done _before_ I turn as old as Jenkin-Myer looks.”

Lilith blinked. While things had definitely gotten better between herself and Luz– between _all_ of the Owl House residents, actually –she thought they were a long way off from… _this._ Clearing an unexpectedly thick throat, the elder Clawthorne nodded.

“I’d be happy to assist you, Luz,” she smiled gently. “Now, what vial of dangerous fluid is that crazy old hag asking you to brew today?”


	5. Magic

Luz had been fascinated with magic for as long, if not longer, than she could remember. The mere thought of it warmed her heart like nothing else. It didn’t matter what kind of magic either; the kind that came from wands, special words, ancient talismans, or even just plain old sleight-of-hand. She loved it all. And ever since she arrived on the Boiling Isles it seemed like she’d been discovering a new magical _something_ at least every other day.

But nothing, _nothing,_ could compare to what her heart was feeling right now.

It had been a good day. School had gone well: no disasters or monsters trying to eat members of the student body for once. She’d gotten to hang out with Gus and Willow all through lunch and even Boscha had left them alone for once. All in all, a rather ordinary day (or _unordinary_ by Isles standards? Since no one had nearly died) but it still led Luz to being right where she was in this moment, and she wouldn’t complain for the world.

Amity had come by the Owl House for an Azura book club meeting. They’d decided during school that since it was one of the last nice days of what the Isles thought of as summer, that they should make the most of it instead of being cooped up in Amity’s not-so-secret library hideout.

And so the two of them were camped out in Luz’s room, tossing theories back and forth about where the series was headed. They’d started off on the floor (Luz _really_ should ask Eda about some proper furniture) but had eventually migrated to the wide-open window, basking in the last warm rays of the setting sun.

Luz had just finished what she thought the symbol on a door described in the penultimate chapter of book five meant when she looked back at Amity and felt her heart stutter alongside her words.

They were sitting side by side on the windowsill, facing out across the roof. Because of how she was sitting, with one knee up to rest her head on as she gazed out over the boiling sea, Amity was in the perfect spot for the sunbeams to gentle caress her face as they went past. The warmth of the dying sun set her brown roots ablaze until they looked like molten bronze among the now almost-silvery mint green. She had this… _gentle_ smile on her face, glowing softly in the evening light, and she looked more at peace than Luz had ever seen her before.

She looked like magic.

Her brow furrowed suddenly, and Amity turned to Luz with a bemused look on her face?

“I look like what?”

Annnnd _apparently_ Luz had said that particular thought _out loud._

“Uh, buh, you see-“ Luz stuttered oh so eloquently. She _really_ had not meant to loose that particular thought, but the cat was out of the bag now. Amity was still looking at her in confusion, but she didn’t seem… _upset_ , but what she’d said? Swallowing hard she decided to bite the proverbial bullet and tried again.

“I-I said, thaaaat you look like, yanno, magic?”

Amity blinked. “O-kay? And, what exactly does that mean?”

Luz could have slapped herself. _Of course_ saying someone looked like something as common as magic (in the Boiling Isles at least) wouldn’t get the right point across. She might as well have said she looked like air.

“What I mean is-is that you look like, like…” Luz struggled to put the right words in the right order to get her feeling across. “You look like how magic makes me…feel?”

“Oh?” Amity responded, rather neutrally but the human was going to go with it.

“Yeah, like; when I see magic I get this, this warm feeling inside? As if I’m, I don’t know, drinking a cup of hot chocolate that’s at just the right temperature? No, that’s not it. It’s like, that feeling when you did something really hard but it worked out anyway? Or when you get an hug from one of your favorite people,” Luz smiled and turned her face back to the sunset. “Or basking in the evening sun after a long day.

It feels like, like everything is _right_. Like all is as it should be. It makes me feel…perfect.” She looked back at Amity, who was gazing at her now with wide curious eyes and couldn’t stop the next words that popped out of her mouth.

“You’re perfect.”

The realization, comically enough, of what she had just said, hit both teenagers at the exact same time, causing them both to whip their heads forward, resolutely refusing to meet the other’s eyes. Amity’s face bore a striking resemblance to a tomato, and Luz’s was noticeably darker than it normally was.

Neither said a word for several minutes, each trapped in the awkward silence that had befallen them, but both terrified of what might happen if they tried to break it.

Amity’s thoughts were racing more than magic staves at relay race, but _eventually_ she made a decision. Swallowing hard and taking a deep breath she chose to be brave for once–

–And gently grabbed Luz’s right hand with her left.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Luz’s head snap down to look at their join hands, but didn’t turn her own head to look; not just yet.

“H-Hey Luz?” Amity said with a mild stutter. The human’s head rose back up and the witchling met her gaze even while her heart felt like it was going to tear itself right out of her chest. Warm brown eyes met sincere amber and Amity felt a small smile dance upon her face unbidden.

“I think you look like magic too.” ~~~~


	6. Fears

“Another day; another unnecessary brush with death,” Amity sighed heavily as she rose from the forest floor, dusting herself off. Securely back on her feet, she drew a light spell, illuminating the previously darkened clearing she had landed in. Looking up she tried to catch a glimpse of the strange vine-like slide that had unceremoniously dropped her here, but to know avail.

The witchling was just about to search the rest of the clearing when her ear twitched from the distant sound of someone yelling. Pausing, she tried to make sense of what direction it was coming from; the yell now more like a scream that was steadily getting louder.

Unhelpfully, she figured out that it was coming from somewhere above her just as another slide opened up and hurled a solid mass straight onto her, causing her back to once again collide with the ground.

She groaned and was shocked to hear that whatever had dive-bombed into her stomach was groaning along with her. In fact, it almost sounded like–

“Gus?!” The illusionist lifted his head enough to see what he had landed on, and offered her a weak grin and a wave.

“Hiya, Amity,” he rasped, “How’s it going?”

“Oh, you know,” she gestured sarcastically to their surroundings, “The usual. You okay?”

“Peachy-keen,” he drolled, finally rolling off of her and onto the ground.

“…What’s a peach?”

“Not sure. It’s one of those things Luz says. I’m pretty sure it’s a synonym of fine?”

“Speaking of Luz,” Amity said as she _once again_ stood up and dusted herself off. “You didn’t by any chance see where she went did you? Or Willow?”

“I’m afraid not,” Gus said as he took Amity’s offered hand and was gently hauled up onto his feet. The older witchling looked him over for injuries, despite his claim of being fine, and sighed at his answer.

“Leave it to Luz to decide to explore the Maze Forest of all places,” she growled as she finished taking in their surroundings. Her light spell was still going, allowing the two witchlings to see that their landing zone was a bare spot of earth and moss, surrounded by densely packed trees, with a single pathway leading on into darkness. It was a thick and quiet sort of dark; the kind that suggests that _something_ was waiting for the right moment to strike.

“Ma-maybe if we wait here, they’ll come f-find us?” Gus offered hopefully.

Amity shook her head, dashing his hope unintentionally. “I doubt it. Their own tunnels probably dropped them off a ways away, and we don’t have time to wait around for them to stumble upon us. If even _half_ of the stories I’ve heard about this place are true, then we need to find an exit before nightfall.”

“You mean this isn’t night?!” Gus yelled in shock.

“It wasn’t even lunchtime when we entered, Gus,” Amity explained with a raised eyebrow. “We still have hours before sunset, and that is when things will _really_ start to get dangerous. We need to more forward and trust that the others will do the same.”

“Bu-but but-“ Gus stuttered.

“But what, Porter?” Amity very nearly snapped. She was tired, achy and had half a mind to shake Luz when she saw her for dragging her into dangerous shenanigans. _Again._

Gus flinched and stared at the ground, scuffing the dirt with the toe of his shoe.

“It’s…it’s really d-dark,” he quietly admitted.

Amity rolled her eyes and was about to sarcastically thank him for stating the obvious when she finally got a good look at his body language. Gus’s arms were wrapped around himself as he hunched over slightly, and while he wouldn’t look at her, he was staring warily out into the darkness that seemed like it was lurking just beyond their small circle of light.

 _He’s scared. Really scared,_ she realized with a start, compounded by the reminder that for all that he was highly gifted in his track, he was still years younger than she was. If Amity was to be labeled a kid then he was a child by comparison. But he did so well in keeping up with his older friends that she’d completely forgotten just how young he really was.

And here _she_ was, acting like a butthead to him.

Taking a second to berate herself, Amity’s mind started to whirl trying to figure out what she should do. They had to go through the dark in order to get out, but first she had to convince Gus that it was their only real option.

Mulling it over, she thought about what her siblings would do in this situation if she were in Gus’s shoes. Knowing them, they’d probably tease her before offering to carry her out of the scary woods. Annnnd she would rebuke their offer and try to go on without their support, probably terrified out of her mind all the while. She didn’t want that for Gus, and didn’t think she could carry him that far anyway, so she’d have to think of something else.

 _Boscha_ would just straight up tease Gus and be no help whatsoever. A wonderful example of what _not_ to do.

Luz, if she were here, would probably loudly proclaim herself Gus’s protector and swear to protect him from anything that would dare try to eat them. Amity didn’t think she could really pull that off believably; _plus_ bringing up the terrors that potentially lurked in the dark seemed like a bad idea.

Willow would probably say some encouraging words to get him moving, but the witchling couldn’t for the life of her even imagine what she could possibly say to make this not be as bleak as it looked.

Amity had to bite her tongue to keep from growling out of frustration. They didn’t have time to waste; she needed to think of something. Anything!

…

If the situation was reversed, what would _she_ want someone to do? What would get her moving?

Her ears pricked up. She had an idea.

One that just might…

“Um, Gus?” Amity asked, allowing some of her tension to bleed into her voice.

“Ye-yeah,” Gus responded, just barely raising his head towards her.

“Do…do you think you could hold my hand?”

“Huh?!”

“It’s just,” the older witchling looked away, as if out of embarrassment. “I’m…kinda, sorta…afraid of the dark?” Which, technically, wasn’t a lie. Just a slight… _embellishment_ of the truth.

“You?!” Gus exclaimed, shocked, “You’re afraid of the dark! I didn’t know that!”

“We-well, it’s not exactly something I go around telling everyone,” Amity pouted, feeling a smidge guilty for manipulating the younger illusionist like this, but she couldn’t think of anything else to do short of dragging him out of the forest by force.

Out of the corner of her eye, the green-haired witchling got to watch as Gus seemed to psyche himself up and straighten like he had a spine of steel.

“Do-don’t worry, Amity!” He proclaimed as he took one of her hands. “We’ll get through this! It-it’s just a maze made of trees and bushes right? With her powers, Willow’s probably halfway through by now,” he helpfully suggested. “And Luz is probably not far behind just by sheer humanly determination!”

Amity smiled warmly at him, gently squeezing his hand.

“Thanks, Gus. You’re right; we _will_ get through this.”

Gus returned her smile, albeit a little shakily, and together the two began to make their way out of their clearing and into the dark of the maze that lay before them.


	7. Palisman

Eda could feel her excitement bubbling up within her and tried to keep herself calm. She'd come so far, she might actually  _ die _ if she had to start over at this point.

_ Not much longer now, _ she thought as she whittled away another sliver of wood.

The witch had hiked deep into the wildest reaches of the Boiling Isles wilderness, armed with nothing but the pack on her back and the magic in her veins. It had taken almost a week but she had  _ finally _ managed to locate a specimen of  _ arborus palmunus. _

A palisman tree.

She took her time examining it until she eventually picked a branch that was the perfect size for what she had in mind. Slicing it off as neatly as she could, she settled at the base of the trunk and got to work.

It took three grueling days, filled with blisters, splinters, and curse-words that would've made Principal Bumpkins blush; but finally,  _ finally, _ she was done.

Standing the freshly carved staff on its end, Eda took a long moment to appreciate her hard work.

By all accounts it was a rather simple staff: the main body of it was smooth and blank unlike some intricately carved ones she had seen before, and the figurine seated at the top could almost be called basic (though Eda would give anyone who said so a black eye or two).

Still, it was hers and she couldn't  _ wait _ to seal the deal.

Standing up in the middle of her makeshift camp, Eda grasped the staff with both hands and closed her eyes, inhaling all the scents of the world around her.

She’d read a dozen books on the best way to create a palisman (it used to be a heavily debated subject pre-Belos and his coven-system nonsense) and her research led her to this; no fancy potions. No intricate words. Just a witch, channeling everything she’s got into what she's made with her own two hands and  _ praying _ to Titan that the wood can take it.

Preferably  _ without  _ exploding in her hands.

Clearing her mind and focusing her senses inward, Eda gathered all the magic she could and mentally made it form a sphere in her very core. From there she drew it up and down her arms, into her palms and fingers and then from there into the staff itself. She kept pouring her magic out, imagining the staff as a hollow container, waiting to be filled.

Sweat broke out on her forehead and her forearms were starting to ache from the continuous magic she forced to flow through them, but she didn't dare stop.

"Come on,  _ come on," _ she growled, gritting her teeth against the pain. "Almost–"

A second before she'd expelled her last drop of magic, there was a flash of light so bright that it nearly blinded Eda through her still closed eyelids. She twisted her head away with a gasp but didn’t relinquish her grip for an instant. 

After a few moments the light died down and Eda fell to her knees in exhaustion, her forehead resting against the now warm wood of her staff.

_ Her staff. _

Eyes snapping open, the witch staggered to her feet to see if she had succeeded or not. It may have been a result of the flash but the carved wood seemed glossier somehow, all the minor imperfections she had missed smoothed out. It was still resting against the ground but already she could tell it was...heavier, in a way. Not by weight, but by something more intrinsic than that.

It felt  _ alive _ .

Grinning like a mad woman, the Owl Lady did a little wiggle and would have leapt around for joy but she still had to check one more thing.

Taking a steadying breath, she gently grasped the owl figure she had diligently carved out of spite to all those who mocked her curse. Sending a quick pray to the Titan, she twisted it to the left–

–And nearly wept when she felt a seam she  _ hadn’t _ carved give way, allowing her to unscrew the figure from its interlock.

Blinking rapidly she cradled the figure– her  _ palisman – _ in the palm of her hand and watched with bated breath as it came alive. Carved impressions of feathery wings phased into the real deal, the rest of the body quickly following suit. Wooden orbs closed and blinked open into a pair of warm eyes that had to blink several more times at the surprising brightness of the world.

With a shake that caused all of its feathers to poof out adorably, the palisman stood in the palm of Eda’s hand and looked up to her awed face. It seemed to study her for a moment before giving out a small coo and seemed to almost grin at her.

Rubbing at her nose with a sniffle– she was  _ not _ crying, okay? –the witch brought her palisman closer to her face with a soft smile.

"Hi little guy," she said softly, "My name is Eda."

The palisman cooed just as softly back in greeting. Eda chuckled wetly, barely believing that she had finally done it.

Clearing her throat, she continued, "Nice to meet you too, um...hm, guess I-I better give you a name, huh?" The palisman chirped an affirmative, and Eda scratched her chin in thought. She’d been so focused on  _ making _ her magic staff that somehow coming up with a name for her palisman completely slipped her mind.

Looking it–  _ him, _ she felt –Eda felt another grin cross her face. 

"I think I'll call you...Owlbert. How does that sound?"

Owlbert gave a hop in her hand and flapped his wings with a little hoot, making Eda smile even more.

It had been way too long since she had anyone she could call a friend. But she had a feeling Owlbert was gonna stick around.


	8. Costume

“How, in the name of the Titan, did I let you talk me into this,” Amity grumbled as she added the finishing touches to her makeup.

_ “Technically _ , you volunteered,” Luz sang over the curtain she was changing behind.

Amity sighed, knowing she was absolutely right. Luz had bounced to the lunch table in school the other day, asking if anyone was available to help her with something during the weekend. Naturally, the witchling had jumped–  _ literally _ –at the chance to help her ‘so not a crush no matter what Willow or Emira or Edric or  _ anyone  _ says’ and volunteered her services immediately.

In hindsight, she probably should have let Luz finish explaining that said ‘help’ was being her partner in a  _ couples  _ costume contest some witch or another was holding in the market square as part of a publicity stunt for their stall.

“And besides,” Luz continued, “First place is free pizza for a year! A  _ year, _ Amity!”

Amity made a face and stared at the curtain, even though she knew the human couldn’t see her. “You know it’s not...whatever ‘pizza’ is, right? It’s actually–”

“I recognize that the food item in question is not actually pizza,” Luz quickly cut her off, “However, since the  _ actual _ name of the dish makes me queasy I will continue to refer to it as pizza so that I can continue eating it without questioning its origins.”

“You can’t stand its name...but you want a year's supply of it?” Amity smirked with a raised eyebrow at Luz’s ‘logic’.

“It’s tasty!”

“Fair enough,” Amity shot back, readjusting her headpiece. “Are you almost done? We need to leave soon if we’re going to–”

“Yeah yeah yeah! Just...one...more...annnnnnd– DONE!” Throwing aside the curtain with a flourish, Luz leapt out of the makeshift changing room with her arms spread wide. “Ta-da! Have no fear, for the Good Witch Luzura is here!”

The witchling and the human’s eyes met and time seemed to stop. For the contest, Luz had suggested the two of them dress as Azura and Hecate, with Luz as the former and Amity as the latter. Amity had considered arguing that she would rather be Azura, since her hair was already green in color, but found herself unable to say no to a pair of excited, warm, brown eyes.

She was now  _ very _ glad she conceded, because Luz looked nothing short of amazing. Her outfit was reminiscent of what she’d donned in her initial attempt to rescue Amity during the ‘library incident’, only with even more detail, reflecting what Azura would have been wearing in the latest installment.

_ She looks incredible, _ Amity thought, not knowing that Luz was thinking precisely the same thing. Amity’s Hecate getup wasn’t quite as elaborate as Azura’s, merely a blue dress with a golden belt and crescent headpiece, but to Luz she looked perfect. She’d even dyed her hair a temporary orange and let it down out of her signature half-up, styled so that it looked absolutely wild, just like Hecate’s did after she joined Azura in her quest.

The two of them may have very well stared at each other indefinitely had Eda’s voice not called up to Luz’s room, asking if they were ready to leave yet.

With a crack the spell was broken and the girls looked away from the other, their faces flushly darker than normal.

“Whelp! We-we had better get going!” Amity cheered, trying to down-play how floored she was by her crush dressed as her favorite literary character.

_ “iSí sí sí!” _ Luz chanted, staring firmly at the ceiling. “Gotta get going, or else we’ll be late and then no one will see how pretty you are!”

“What?!”

“WHAT?! COMING EDA!!” the human bolted for the door and nearly concussed herself by running straight into the doorframe. After a few long moments, Amity dazedly wandered after her, thinking maybe today would be so terrible after all.


	9. Coven

What was a coven?

Amity had always been told that a coven was an organization dedicated to one form of magic, unless it was the Emperor’s. A way to guarantee the  _ proper _ use of magic.

As a child, she had thought of them as strictly “for adults”. Serious, business-like, and highly important.

Why else would her parents seem to focus more on their coven duties than to their own children?

After starting at Hexside, she began to see them as a way to finally gain her parent’s approval. At the very least, joining a coven meant that she would be among peers who had some things in common with her. Even if it was only using the same form of magic…

Then she met Luz.

And after a few more “encounters”, she eventually met Eda and heard about her self-made coven, the “Bad Girls Coven”. She’d laughed it off (mostly to herself) as just being yet another eccentricity of the infamous, highly wanted, Owl Lady and her band of misfits.

But then...then she became proper friends with Luz and things began changing. She repaired her friendship with Willow, found something of a little brother figure in Gus and even started to see Eda as someone to look up to rather than down upon as would be expected of her by her parents.

Before she even knew it she started to hang out with the “Hexsquad” (as Luz insistently called them) more and more. Not out of any kind of obligation, but just because she enjoyed their company. It was...freeing.

She was seated on the couch of the Owl House, laughing with everyone else as King battled Hooty for some stuffed animal or another when it hit her.  _ This _ was what a coven should be. Not a bunch of people clumped together because of a shared proficiency in one kind of magic, but individuals, each with their own unique skills, banded together not for what made them the same, but for what made them different. A coven should be a group where everyone could rely on each other and genuinely  _ enjoyed _ each other's company, even if they disagreed worse than three-year-olds throwing tantrums sometimes.

A coven should be…

A family.

Not by blood, but by choice.

Amity smiled as the notion made her heart warm, her eyes sweeping across the room taking in every member of her small coven.

She’d made a good choice.


	10. Masquerade

_ Lights aglow, music slow, figures stand in pair, _

_ Moving feet, hands that meet, feelings in the air. _

_ Laughing faces, twirling laces, each dressed with mask, _

_ Lilting voices, so many choices, which one to possibly ask. _

_ The one who’s strong, the oldest friend, who gave her a second chance? _

_ Or the new one, so small, would he like to dance? _

_ Both fine choices, both would say yes, but neither the goal of her task, _

_ Both fun and enjoyable, but not the presence she longs to bask. _

_ Tall and thin, none brighter than her grin, never failing to amuse, _

_ She must admit, she cannot quit, wanting to dance with– _

“Hi Amity!”

“GWAHH!” Amity cried as she jerked away from the sudden voice in her ear. Balance lost, the witchling would have completely tumbled onto the ground from her bench, had a pair of arms not wrapped around her middle, then carefully, if somewhat clumsily hoisting her back into her seat.

“Sorry! Sorry,” Luz said, releasing Amity and walking around to the other side of the picnic table she was sitting at. “I didn’t mean to scare you like that! I just got really excited to see you, it feels like it’s been forever!”

“School ended like ten minutes ago Luz,” Amity replied, clutching at her pounding heart. “We saw each other at lunch?”

“Yes and it’s been hoooouuuuurrrrs,” Luz moaned as she draped dramatically over the table, causing Amity to giggle at her antics. As her breathing started to return to normal she mentally gave herself a pat on the back. She’d been doing a lot better at...not “panicking” whenever she was around the human.

Maybe soon she’d even be able to tell her how she really feels–

“So, whatcha writing?” Luz asked, reaching for her still open journal.

“Nothing! No one! Ha ha, what’s writing?!”

–But not today.


	11. Books

Eda sighed contentedly as she wiggled into a perfect position on the couch. After a long day of haggling with irate customers, there was  _ nothing _ better than curling up with a good book.

Taking a sip of her apple blood before setting it on the table, the Owl Lady cracked open her book of choice with a grin. “Now! Let’s see if I’m right about the pool boy murdering the cook to keep his affair with the family head a secret!”

She was three words in when she started to hear something from outside. Eda looked up as it steadily got louder and more clear. It almost sounded like…

The front door slammed open, and Hooty’s cheerfully grating voice called out, “Hey Eda~! The kids are home from school! And they brought new friends, hoot!”

“Ah, I thought I heard the sound of screaming,” Eda drolled as she replaced her bookmark and made her way to the still open door. “What did my apprentice find this time? A gargoyle? Oversized imp? An Eldritch horror that has been sleeping for a thousand years?”

“Looks like a griffon, hoot!”

“Really? Just a...ah. I see why they’re screaming,” the witch said as she finally stepped outside to see what all the commotion was.

Luz, Gus and Amity were all running around what the owl House referred to as its front yard, covered in what looked like various bits of fish. Chasing after them was a rather young griffon– only about the size of a small cart –who seemed keen on eating said fish parts and chasing  _ that _ were Willow and some other Hexside student wearing orange and blue.

Taking in the scene, Eda hm’ed thoughtfully. “Must be one of those ex-detention track kids Luz told me about.” The chase was now doing large circles around the yard. “The one trying to mix beast-keeping with- what was it now…”

“Hoot hoot, healing!”

Eda snapped her fingers, “That’s the one! Griffon must be one of hers. Looks like a classic case of feeding time gone wrong.”

“Should we do something, hoot?”

_ “Of course _ we’re going to do something,” Eda rolled her eyes before walking back into the house. She reappeared moments later with a bedraggled lawn chair and her now-topped-off apple blood.

“Hoot, two snails says the griffon tackles the tiny one first,” Hooty said as Eda set up her chair for the best vantage point.

“Gus? Alright, I’ll see your two and raise you teal-head taking a hit for Luz.” she took a sip as her _the_ kids continued screaming.

“You’re on! Hoot hoot!”


	12. Skull

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Amity and Luz are aged up in this one (somewhere in their early twenties?) and have been dating for a while

"Whoaaaaa," Luz breathed, cresting over the final peak. Her cloud of air flowed away with the rest of her breath as she took in the view. She and Amity had just spent the better part of the morning hiking up the skull of the Boiling Isles, having flown up from Bonesborough. They would have flown  _ all _ the way, but the summit was haloed by wicked winds that would trash a staff as soon as look at it.

But  _ man _ was it worth it.

The whole length of the Isles stretched out before them, slowly transitioning from the glistening slopes immediately below the summit, down through the ribcage with its rolling hills and valleys speckled here and there with various towns.

“Everytime I think I’ve got this place figured out, it just amazes me again,” Luz said, still staring even as a pair of arms wrapped around her.

“Funny,” Amity chuckled warmly in her ear. “I think the exact same thing about you.”

“You’re getting soft, Blight,” the human grinned, twisting in the grip to wrap her girlfriend in her own arms with a small snicker.

“Lies,” the witch deadpanned mock-seriously, making Luz chuckle more. “Lies and slander.”

“Soft Mit~tens, warm Mit~tens, bundled in her furs~!” Luz sang as she tugged Amity’s hat even further down over her eyes. “Happy Mit~tens, sappy Mit~tens, purr purr pur- _ rah!”  _ Luz shrieked as Amity blindly tackled both of them into the snow.

“You  _ know _ how I feel about that song!” Amity declared, shoving her hat back into place as she sat upon a surrendered Luz.

“I know you  _ say _ you hate it,” Luz teased as she marveled at how the jostling freed more of Amity’s long bronze hair from beneath her hat, “-But the blush and  _ tiiiiiny  _ smile say otherwise.” The witch spluttered indignantly before shooting Luz a dangerous smirk.

“Oh yeah? Well, two can play at that game... _ luz de mi vida,” _ Amity grinned wickedly as Luz took a turn spluttering. They’d been dating for years, but still managed to find ways to turn the other redder than a cup of apple blood. Luz with cute names, and Amity (when she wasn’t already flustered) by saying things like... _ that. _

“So not fair,” Luz mumbled through the mittens (the clothing article, not the girlfriend) currently hiding her flushed face.

“Regret teaching me spanish yet?” Amity giggled.

“Never,” Luz glared rather fiercely, making Amity blush yet again. Smiling and shaking her head fondly, the witch stood up and offered her girlfriend her hand.

“Come on, you goober, before you catch a cold.”

“Says the one who knocked me into the snow in the first place,” Luz retorted even as she took her hand. She let Amity haul her onto her feet and then used the momentum to send the witch out into a twirl before drawing her back into Luz’s embrace. Wrapping her free hand around Amity’s waist, Luz began leading them into a gentle swaying dance.

“What are you doing,” Amity giggled, though she didn’t hesitate to join in the dance and even took a turn to lead a dip or two.

“Dancing with my favorite person on top of the world, of course,” Luz stated so nonchalantly that Amity could literally feel her heart skip a beat.

_ “Technically, _ the Knee is the tallest part of the Isles,” Amity mumbled, half hiding her blushing face in Luz’s shoulder.

“Yeah, but! This is the  _ head _ of the Isles, and therefore– anatomically speaking –its top,” the human argued, resting her own head atop Amity’s. Between her growth spurt and the fact that the witch was in hiking boots instead of heels, she had a few inches on Amity and she adored every single one of them.

“Fair enough,” Amity conceded, transitioning them from full on dancing to more of a simple back and forth sway. They stayed like that for a while; as immersed in each other all alone on top of a giant’s skull as they would be in a room packed full of everyone they knew.

Eventually, Luz felt Amity take a deep breath before the witch gently brought them to a halt. She took a half step back, so that she could tilt her head up to look at Luz, but focused on the front of her coat instead.

“Everything alright?” Luz asked softly.

“Everything’s fine,” Amity answered, finally meeting Luz’s eye. Her face was flushed again, though the human didn’t think it was from the cold or the dancing, and the amber eyes she so adored were flickering with so many emotions that Luz couldn’t keep track. “Do you-” Amity squeaked before clearing her throat and trying again. “Do you remember the day we met?”

Luz snorted. “You mean when you were the top Abomination student, and I was just an abomination?”

“Uggghhhhh,” Amity groaned good-naturedly. “You’re never going to stop telling that joke, are you?”

“Signs say a hard no,” Luz beamed, “But you love me anyways.”

“You’re right; I do,” Amity said, gazing at Luz so tenderly she had no option but to steal a quick kiss or two before Amity pulled back again with a giggle. “As I was  _ saying; _ when I met you...well it wasn’t a great first impression, for either one of us.”

“Which part? The mean girl act, the intentional cheating,  _ or _ me nearly getting  vivisected by Bump?”

“All of the above and  _ please, _ let me finish?” Amity asked. Luz nodded apologetically and let her continue. “Back then I never,  _ ever, _ imagined that we would ever come this far. Between the beasts and the battles and...and that year you had to go home...” they both swallowed hard at the reminder of the time it seemed like Luz would be gone from the Isles for good. Amity shook off the melancholy first and pushed on. “I can honestly say that you have changed my life; undoubtedly for the better.”

Luz felt a tear come to her eye at Amity’s words, and felt a wealth of her own feelings on the witch start to climb up her throat, but she swallowed them back down. She’d known Amity for years and just  _ knew _ she wasn’t done. Not yet.

“And-” a nervous light had reappeared in the witch’s eye, but she seemed to be overcoming it by sheer force of will as she took a further step back from Luz, “-And, I would like it– very much –if you continued t-to make my life better. Mostly by...by being in it.”

_ Wait– is she– ?! _ Luz thought as Amity reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, hilariously inconsequential looking box.

“I-I know you love all things ‘Boiling Isles’,” she stuttered as she nervously played with the box, not quite managing to look Luz in the eye. “But uh- but for– well – _ this, _ I’d thought it be best to go th-the human way.”

“Where did you get that,” Luz couldn’t help but whisper in awe, causing Amity to flare an even deeper red.

“Camilia helped–  _ please stop interrupting!” _ she stamped her foot in frustration.

“I’m sorry but I’m getting freaking excited over here!” Luz flailed comically in response.

“Which is  _ fine _ but I’ve been pla- _ wait,” _ Amity froze, staring at Luz for several seconds. “...You’re excited?”

_ “Dios mío _ ,  _ yes _ I’m excited!” Luz all but shrieked before gasping, “Unless I’ve completely misunderstood exactly what is happening here!  _ Oooohhhhh nooooo, _ I have, haven’t I?!”

Amity’s eyes darted between Luz and the box in her hand several times before ultimately staying on the human. Squinting her eyes suspiciously she asked, “And what,  _ exactly _ , do you think it is that’s happening?”

Luz cheeks darkened several shades, and she looked away with a pout. “Well now I don’t wanna say in case I’m actually wrong.”

“Well in  _ that case,” _ Amity drolled, making as if to put the box away; much to Luz’s horror.

“NO!” she shouted, startling Amity with the volume almost as much as the hand suddenly grabbing the one holding the box. Luz moved in closer to her love and took a calming breath, holding it and her eyes closed for several seconds before letting it back out and meeting Amity’s own wide eyes.

“I’m sorry. You obviously put a lot of thought into this–” she gestured to the magnificent view all around them, “–And I shouldn’t try to spoil that. Will you continue? Please?”

Amity gave her an impossibly soft smile and brought the hand holding hers up for a kiss, nuzzling it warmly.

“You didn’t spoil anything,  _ mi amor,” _ she murmured, gently freeing the box from their combined hold. Amity took a deep breath and looked directly into the eyes she’d fallen in love with years ago. She’d come up with a thousand words to say to Luz and a thousand more ways to say them. She’d planned and practiced and even prayed. Now the moment had finally arrived and she was stunned to realize that it didn’t matter  _ how _ she said it; she just had to  _ say it. _

“Luz, will you marry me?” Slightly blown by the simplicity of her own words, Amity numbly opened the box, revealing a small, simple ring, bearing a stone that nearly resembled the grom tiaras they had both earned so long ago.

Luz’s response was to drag Amity in for a kiss that was nearly drowned out by the tears running down someone’s cheeks, though it’s hard to say who they belonged to.

_ “Yes,” _ the human whispered fervently to her love as she grinned and peppered her face with more kisses. “Yes, yes, yes– a thousand times yes! I’ll marry you; in this and every other world,” she vowed.

Amity broke down laughing out of a combination of relief and joy, wrapping her arms around Luz shoulder as if she just had to be as close to her as possible. Luz, understandably distracted, was taken by surprise by the sudden additional weight and the two plopped over once again into the snow, giggling like children all the while.

Eventually they situated themselves so that Amity could finally slip the ring onto her  fiancée’s finger (and by  _ Titan _ how she loved that she could finally say that), and the rest of the day was lost to them either staring at the view or each other. More so the latter.

In the end, they’ll brush off the compacted snow and begin the long trek back down the skull; but for now, there is nowhere else they would rather be.

Together.


	13. Plants

Willow had always loved and admired plants, even more she fully understood what they were.

And why not? They came in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and variations. Even among the same species, no two were exactly alike.

Flowers blazing with colors. Moss that softened the hardest of edges. And trees that seem to touch the sky itself.

She adored all of them.

But what she loved most, was their resilience.

They could withstand the harshest punishments the Isles had to offer, from boiling rain to wayward monsters, and still sprout again.

Shredding, drowning, even burning.

All it takes is a little water, sunshine, and patience, and plants could bounce back from nearly anything.

It’s a thought that’s comforted her many times through the years. From the harsh words of her former friend, to the outright nastiness of Boscha. Time and again Willow had turned to her plants for her reassurance.

If they could withstand the harshest of elements and come out stronger–

–Then so could she.


	14. Rain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aged up Luz & Amity; about seventeen-eighteen

"I can’t believe- the absolute nerve- _UGH!"_ Amity growled as she stomped around the covered back porch of the Noceda house as Luz sat on the bench swing and watched. The pair of them had just come from a... _less than_ pleasant evening with Amity’s parents.

Things had been tense between Mr and Mrs Blight and their children ever since the twins had moved out and Amity had gone with them, expressly against her parents’ wishes. It’d been years since then, but Odalia had finally convinced her youngest to visit them and have dinner together. Amity had conceded, since the date happened to coincide with an Isles holiday, but only on the condition that her girlfriend be allowed to come as well.

The two of them had made it halfway through the meal before the passive-aggressive comments (on everything from Luz’s human-ness to even Amity’s _diet_ ) became too much and they both stormed out. Luz was peeved enough as is (Amity was at a _perfect_ weight, thank you very much, _Odalia_ ) but Amity looked dangerously close to passing out her face so red from anger and embarrassment.

The American was at a loss of what to do to salvage the evening, when her mother texted her that it was due to rain in the Human Realm. Camilia liked to keep her daughter informed of the weather in case she wanted to randomly visit (which she did), and didn’t want her to walk through a rainstorm to get to the house and catch a cold (which she had).

Inspired, Luz all but dragged Amity through the portal and to her human-side house; ever since the human had first brought the witchling over Amity had learned to love the relatively non-lethal rain as much, if not more, than she did. Luz hoped it would do the trick tonight, as the pair reached the yard minutes before the first few drops fell. In the interim, Amity returned to growling her frustrations about her parents.

“Why is it _so hard_ for them to be decent!” she ranted, still pacing the boards. “Seriously! All they had to do tonight was be nice! No–not even that! I would have settled for not-mean! Just who the hell do they think they are?!”

Luz had been with Amity long enough to learn that sometimes the best thing she could do was just sit and actively listen. If Amity wanted her opinion, she would ask. Until then she would simply sit quietly and allow her girlfriend to vent.

Back and forth the witch stomped; so engrossed in her own anger she didn’t notice the first few drops of rain until it had built up into a steady pour. It wasn’t until she flailed her arms out far enough that a few drops landed on her hand that Amity paused her tirade long enough to look out of the porch and see that it was raining. Luz could feel a smile growing on her face as the witchling habitually turned her hand palm-side up and watched the droplets land and converge into tiny streams that gently trickled off her hand and down her arm. She watched as the tension seemed to drain from Amity’s shoulders with every drop that landed until the rage was gone, to be replaced with a tired, tentative peace.

Amity finally allowed her arm to fall back to her side, turning to look at her girlfriend for what felt like the first time in hours. Luz gave her what she _hoped_ was a supportive smile, but she questioned its effectiveness when all Amity could return was a downward pout and a furrowed brow.

“You knew it was going to rain, didn’t you?” Amity asked. She’d been so wound up by her parents that she had barely registered the trip over.

“My mom texted me,” Luz shrugged nonchalantly. “I let her know we’re here and I _think_ she might be making us some hot cocoa.” To her distress, Amity seemed to curl in on herself even further.

“She’s too good to me. You both are,” Amity mumbled, looking downcast even as she stared out into a perfect rainstorm. “Here I am, ranting about a ruined evening, and you two are doing everything to try and cheer me up.” She hung her head, “I don’t de–”

 _“Ah bup bup_ – none of that!” Luz lightly scolded as she finally got up to stand next to her girlfriend. “First of,” she began, taking Amity’s hand, “You absolutely _do_ deserve us. You deserve the world...all of them, actually.”

“Luz-”

“Nope! My turn,” Luz gently shushed. “Second; if anyone doesn’t deserve anything, it’s _definitely_ your parents. Especially with you. …’Cause, yanno, you’re the greatest and they just, they don’t appreciate that. Because they’re dumb. And stupid. And–”

“Okay-okay,” Amity said, cracking the first smile in what seemed like hours. “I get it; they don’t deserve me.”

“Damn straight, skippy!”

“Luz! Language!” Camilia’s voice called faintly from inside the house, causing both young adults to blush.

 _“_ _Discúlpeme, Mamá_ ,” Luz called through the closed door.

“Also she’s right, Amity dear,” Camilia continued, “If your parents can’t appreciate what a wonderful woman you’ve turned out to be, they don’t deserve a moment of your time, blood or no.” Amity blushed and nearly teared up at Camilia’s sincere words. Meanwhile Luz just plain blushed at what Camilia said afterwards in a low volume spanish as she walked further into the house; detailing _exactly_ what she thought of the elder Blights and where she thought they could shove their indecency.

“Kaaaaaay,” Luz said, getting back to their conversation. “And third– third? – _third_ of all; this evening isn’t ruined. Not by a longshot! Wanna know why?”

“Why?” Amity asked, suspicious of the answer and how cheesy it could be.

“Because I got to spend all of it with you,” Luz grinned dopely, confirming Amity’s theory that she was dating a dork. Albeit a dork that never failed to make her laugh and/or blush.

“What would I do without you,” Amity giggled, her mood immensely better.

Luz pretended to think it over. “Hmmmm, probably...spend more nights in your room at Ed and Em’s place.”

“Bold of you to assume that I would have made it out of my parent’s thumb without your influence,” the bronze-haired witch deadpanned.

“You would have made it,” Luz stated confidently, gently holding Amity’s cheek. “It may have taken a little longer, but you would have. Eventually.”

“You’re too kind,” Amity muttered, leaning into the warmth.

“So are you. You grew up with _those two,”_ Luz sneered at the mention of Amity’s parents; quite a feat for her usually sunshiney face, “And _still_ turned out to be someone who likes to read to kids at the library just for fun. You might be their daughter, but you are _nothing_ like them, Amity Blight.”

Amity had to close her eyes and take several breaths to compose herself from Luz’s words. She’d heard some variant of them before, but they never failed to make her heart beat hard and fast. And she thanked the Titan everyday that she had the honor to call the one who says them hers.

Shining amber eyes opened to meet hickory colored ones, and Luz just smiled before pulling her in for a warm hug. After a minute they moved as one and took a seat on the bench swing, staring out into the rain, leaning into each other contentedly.

The silence lasted several minutes until Luz felt Amity sighed deeply into her side.

“Do you know something Luz?” She mumbled, “I think you’re wrong. I think if I had never met you, I would have turned out to be just another Blight. Cold, calculating, and everything I don’t want to be. So, thank you, Luz, for making sure that I’m not.”

“Not _all_ Blights are as bad as your parents,” the American gently chided. “Ed and Em aren’t that terrible...they’re more mischievous than downright evil.”

Amity snorted at that. “You’re not wrong. But still, I think the Isles would be better off if it had fewer witches like my parents.”

“Can’t argue with that,” Luz said, tightening the arm that was draped around Amity’s shoulders, “Although, if you hate being a Blight that much, you could always become a Noceda instead.”

The sound of raindrops pit-pattering across the porch roof and lawn overwhelmed everything for several seconds as the implications of what Luz just said ran its way through both of their heads. The result was a pair of _very_ flushed faces who suddenly had difficulty making eye contact with each other.

“Di-did you just?!”

“Tha-that is not what I meant!”

“ _Not_ what you–”

“We-well I mean– _yeah,_ someday I-I would like to–”

_“You would like to–”_

“But-but not today! Not now! We both still have school to finish, I-I need to square away what I’m going to do and how I’m going to live full time on the Isles– _dios mio I don’t even have a ring yet–”_

“Yes!” Amity blurted out, finally snapping Luz out of the spiral she was falling into. The human blinked several times before slowly turning her head to her girlfriend, slowly as if she would startle her otherwise.

“...Yes?” Luz asked a beet-red faced Amity. The witch swallowed hard before nodding once.

“Li-like you said; not today. We, we’re just not ready,” Luz tried not to let the hurt show on her face, but Amity caught it anyway and comfortingly placed her hand on her leg. “But someday...someday, when you’re ready to ask...my answer will be yes.”

Luz took the hand on her leg and gave it a squeeze, a stray tear sneaking its way past a blooming grin.

 _“Te amo,”_ she whispered, leaning her forehead against Amity’s. _“Te am_ _o mas que al mundo.”_

“I love you too,” Amity whispered as she placed the gentlest kiss on eager lips.

 _“Ay, que linda,”_ Camilia cooed as she stood at the open backdoor, holding two steaming mugs.

“Mom!” Luz shrieked as she and Amity all but fell off the swing. “Don’t do that! _¿Estás intentando darnos un infarto?_ ”

 _“Oya,_ _mija,_ it’s not my fault if you’re too busy being adorable with your girlfriend to notice when your mother is coming to give you hot cocoa.”

“Mooooooom.”

“Alright, alright, I’m going!” Camilia stated, handing a mug to each girl, though both adamantly refused to look her in the eye. She made her way back into the house...but not without pausing at the doorway to get one last word in.

 _“Por cierto,_ Luz, just so you know; I still have my mother’s engagement ring tucked away somewhere. _Just_ in case.”

 _“¡MAMÁ!”_ “MISS NOCEDA!”


	15. Illusion

Gus sighed heavily for what felt like the dozenth time in as many minutes. He'd been toiling away in the Illusion track's mirror room for nearly an hour, practicing for an upcoming exam focused on beasts. He was grateful he'd managed to have it all to himself; it was popular amongst the Illusion students because the mirrors lining the walls, ceiling and even floor meant that one didn’t have to trek all around their creation to check that everything was correct.

Gus had been doing well in the beginning; drawing a card with a random creature on it and then bringing it to life, so to speak.

Until he got to the griffin.

The young illusionist sighed again before canceling his spell and dropping down onto the floor, resting his head in one hand with his legs criss-crossed. Pouting he tried to figure out where he was going wrong.

“Form’s accurate,” he mumbled, hoping that thinking out loud would help, “Everything from claws to pin feathers. But the  _ movement _ …”

“The motion of your shoulders is too jerky,” a voice stated right beside his ear.

“GWAH!” Gus yelped, falling onto his side away from the voice dramatically. Twisting around on the floor, the witchling looked up to find the grinning faces of Emira and Edric Blight.

“Whoops, sorry little man,” Edric shrugged sheepishly.

“Didn’t mean to scare you  _ that _ badly,” Emira giggled.

“Yo-you didn’t,” Gus defended, lying motionless on the floor. “That’s just... _ how humans _ greet people while seated on the floor! Yeah, that’s it!”

“Hmmmm, I do see Luz doing that…” Edric mumbled, stroking his chin, while his sister just shook her head at them both.

“Uh huh, sure,” she deadpanned. “But seriously, your griffin’s shoulders are moving too stiffly. It’s more of a flowing motion; like this.” Drawing a circle, Emira brought up a smaller scaled griffin between the three of them and had it move like it was flying, though it remained in place. “The wings don’t stay flat; they tilt and wave, following behind the bone like a flag in a breeze. See?” Gus scrambled to sit up and lean in for a closer look.

_ “Ohhhh, _ I get it! It’s almost more like a swimming motion!”

“Kinda,” Ed smiled encouragingly.

“Give it another shot,” Emira said, leaving her illusion up for Gus to mimic.

Leaping up onto his feet– and nearly toppling over in his excitement –Gus took a deep breath before casting the spell yet again. Like before, he had no trouble bringing a small scaled griffin into existence (the one drawback of the mirror room being that it was too small for a full-scaled, fully grown griffin illusion). With a gulp, he took a second look at Emira’s griffin, focusing on how the limb reacted to being pumped up and down as if in flight, and did his best to copy it.

“Just focus on one side for now,” Ed suggested. “You can worry about them moving in sync later.”

“Right, right,” Gus mumbled as he paid extra attention to the wing closest to them. It took a few tries (how did Emira make it look so effortless but lifelike?!) but  _ eventually _ he got the general movement down and moved on to making the far wing do the same.

Before he knew it, Gus’s griffin was mimicking the motion of flight almost perfectly. He even had it doing a victory lap around the room he was so giddy, much to the twin’s amusement.

“Nice job, Gus,” Ed beamed, holding his hand up for a high-five. Luz had shown him how the other week and he looked for any and all excuses to use it.

“Yes!” Gus shouted, leaping up to slap the other witch’s palm with glee. “Thank you guys sooooo much! I was struggling with that, for like,  _ an hour!” _

“Nah, it was more like forty minutes,” Emira shrugged, faux-chalantly.

“But you’re still welcome!” Ed grinned.

“Forty–  _ wait; _ how long were you guys watching me?!”

“Forty-five minutes,” the twins chimed in unison.

“Why didn’t you say anything?!”

“Because that would have ruined the bet. Duh,” Edric rolled his eyes.

“Bet?”

“To see which one of old Ms Terrace’s creatures you’d struggle with,” Emira explained. “Everyone  _ always _ has a beast they struggle with–”

“Giraffes are hard,” Ed nodded sagely.

“–So when we found you here we decided to bet which one would be yours. Thank you for the month of extra dessert, by the way,” the witch grinned, having won the bet.

“Oh, that makes sense,” Gus acknowledged, though unsure of how he felt about being bet upon. “How’d you know I’d have trouble with the griffin?”

“Four legs, two wings  _ and _ a tail, tallying a total of seven limbs to keep track of? There are witches in the class above you who  _ still _ struggle with all of that at once, so it seemed like a safe bet,” Em shrugged.

“Still,” Ed added, “I’m impressed you managed to pick up the correct technique so quickly,” nodding to Gus’s still soaring griffin.

“Thanks,” Gus smiled, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. “But I couldn’t have done it without your advice. Where’d you learn griffin movements from?”

“Yeah,  _ sis,”  _ Edric grin, cutting off his sister’s reply. “Where  _ did _ you learn to mimic a griffin so well? Could it be from hanging out with a certain... _ dual-track _ witch?”

“Wha- _ No!” _ Emira insisted, looking away with a pout and red face.

“Hey! You make the same face Amity does!” Gus said, making Edric break down into a laughing fit and Emita sputter indignantly. “Is it a family thing or...?”

“It–” Ed tried to speak through his snickers, “-It’s mostly a–  _ snk _ –a  _ cu-cute girl _ thing!”

“Shut it, ED!” Emira all but screeched, only succeeding in making him laugh harder.

“I don’t get it,” Gus remarked, not understanding what was so funny about cute girls randomly becoming red. Maybe it was a teenager thing?

_ If that’s the case, _ he thought as he watched the bickering dissolve into a literal wrestling match between the two siblings,  _ I’m glad I have a few years before I need to worry about stuff like that. _


	16. Sports

“So let me get this straight,” Eda said as she stared at the Noceda’s TV screen in confusion. “This game is called ‘football’, _but,_ there’s _another_ game, that’s also called ‘football’, but they’re not the same thing?”

“Right,” Camilia acknowledged, eyes also trained on the screen, “Though this game is spelled f-ú-t-b-o-l rather than f-o-o-t-b-a-l-l. It’s also known as soccer– _FOUL!_ Ref, where are you looking? That was _so_ a foul!” The American raged as one of the players body slammed into the turf after another player tripped them.

“Pft, you call that a foul? She’s not even limping,” Eda drolled, as the down player hopped back up and seemed to yell at some guy in black and white stripes. The “ref”, if the witch wasn’t mistaken.

As Camilia continued to berate the referee’s eyesight, the witch found herself contemplating the situation with a slight smirk. They made an unlikely pair, her and Camilia. One was a wanted wild witch and the other was a by-the-book nurse. Meaning that they didn’t _exactly_ have a whole lot in common. Point of fact, they only had one thing in common.

They both loved Luz.

And, well, that was enough for them to begrudgingly agree to at least _try_ to get along.

Which led to today’s attempt; sports.

Apparently, as Eda understood it, today was an important match for Camilia’s favorite ‘football/soccer’ team. However, they were _(finally)_ reaching the end of the game and thus far the most the witch had been impressed with was the sheer size of the field.

Still, she could admit (quietly, to herself) that it _was_ a little cute when the clock finally ran down and Camilia’s team was left the winner, causing the American to literally jump for joy. In that moment she could actually see a bit of Luz on her grinning face, the thought making her smile unconsciously.

“Ahem,” Camilia cleared her throat, remembering that she had company. “And that’s the game. So, what did you think?”

“Eh, not bad,” Eda shrugged. “Could have used a few field traps; Titan _knows_ there’s more than enough room for them.”

“Field traps?” the nurse asked with a cocked brow. “What kind of game has field traps?”

“Grudgby, of course!” the witch stated with a grin. “And before you ask, it’s only one of _the greatest_ sports the Boiling Isles has to offer.”

“Hmph, I think I’ll believe that when I see it,” Camilia challenged.

“That can be arranged,” Eda smirked, pulling a crystal ball out of her hair.

* * *

**_Forty-five Minutes Later_ **

“Oh–WHAT WAS THAT?!” Camilia shouted at the ball. “#18 _barely_ touched that other player!”

“I know, right?!” Eda growled. “If you’re going to tackle someone, _tackle them!_ Don’t half-ass it!”

“Not what I meant, but good point– Ooh! They’re going for the net!”

“C’mon c’mon c’mon! And–GOOOAALLLLL!!!!”

Both adults leapt up from the couch and started bouncing as Eda’s team scored just before half-time. They were so excited that they grabbed each other and bounced in time for several moments before remembering they didn’t exactly ‘like’ each other and letting go with matching red faces. Camilia attempted to break the awkward silence first.

 _“Alright,_ I’ll admit it; it _is_ pretty fun to watch. Even if some of those traps look _too_ dangerous.”

“Eh, what’s life without a little danger?” Eda smirked through her blush.

“...Safer?”

“Meh, sounds stagnant to me,” the witch shrugged, reclaiming her seat.

“...You’re not wrong,” Camilia admitted softly. The comfortable silence was shortly interrupted by the growling of Eda’s stomach, making the nurse laugh. “Sounds like it’s lunch time. Have you ever had pizza?” she asked as she went to grab her phone and wallet.

“If it’s that round ‘cheesy’ thing, then yes,” Eda called, attempting to hide her blush by grabbing their empty glasses and taking them to the kitchen. “I’m getting a refill, do you want one?”

“Yes please, thanks. What do you like on your pizza?”

“Mushrooms and those meat circles– what do ya call’em; pupperoonis?”

“Pepperoni,” Camilia corrected as she waited for the pizzeria to answer. “One large pepperoni and mushroom pizza with a side of fries, coming right up!”

“Great! ...What are fries?”


	17. Demons

Luz jackknifed up in her sleeping bag, a scream strangling the back of her throat. Her eyes were wide but didn’t see a bit of the world around her as her mind continued to be trapped in the nightmare she hadn’t quite escaped from.

_ EdaLilithKingStoneFirePortalGoneYourFaultYourFaultYOURFAULT _

She was starting to hyperventilate when something leaned against her arm. Flinching she snapped her head down to stare at what seemed like the top of a funkily shaped volleyball. The unexpectedness of that was enough for her to forget to hyperventilate for a second, which then allowed her mind to begin absorbing more details about her surroundings.

_ Dark room but not so dark that thing next to side can’t be seen. Thing looks smooth on top but part pushing into arm is furry and warm? Thing is moving. Thing has eyes. Thing is– _

“K-King?” Luz croaked, her throat feeling like a desert. At her words, King wrapped his arms around her middle, where before he had just been leaning heavily into her side.

“I’m here Luz,” he said, nuzzling her shoulder, mindful of his horns. “I’m here and I’m fine. So is Eda.”

_ “Eda-” _ Luz rasped, the worst of her vision flying through her head; beast, stone, crumbling, her fault  _ her fault– _

“She’s right down the hall,” King stated firmly, unfortunately familiar with how Luz’s mind would spiral. “I can go get her right now if you want. It’ll only take a second.”

Luz blinked several times as King’s face started to get blurry from the tears beginning to gather in her eyes. Roughly rubbing them away, she nodded robotically, not even fully aware of what she was nodding to. Quick as a flash the little demon was up and out the door of Luz’s room. No sooner had he gone did the thoughts begin tumbling around her skull again of how it was her fault, all of it, from the portal, Mom being alone, Eda being gone, Eda–

“–Luz?” Eda called, softly but urgently as she rounded the doorframe, clothes and hair alike rumpled from an interrupted sleep. At the sight of her, Luz fully broke and began sobbing, curling into herself even as she reached for her mentor-turned-family.

The older witch was at her side in two strides, King only a half second behind. Eda scooped Luz into her arms as she sat down on the floor, curling around the teenager like that would protect her from anything that would dare harm her.

How she wished she could do just that.

King wiggled his way through Eda’s arms and even past Luz’s tense ones until he could finally situate himself in the girl’s small lap. He popped his head over their arms with a small “weh” so that he could breathe, but otherwise said nothing as Eda rocked both of them gently, murmuring comforting nonsense into Luz’s ear.

This wasn’t the first time Luz had awoken from a nightmare inspired by their time in the Emperor’s castle. And Eda, King, and even Luz– when her mind would eventually clear from the panic it had spun for itself – _ knew _ it would not be her last.

They knew it. Just as they knew that so long as the human had a wanted wild witch and the King of Demons by her side, she would  _ never _ have to face them alone.


	18. Friendship

Amity couldn’t remember the last time she'd had this much fun. Actually, no, that was a lie. The last time was just after the grudgby match against Boscha and the Banshees. She, Willow, and Gus were hanging out again with Luz at the Owl House and having a blast. They weren’t even doing anything in particular; just sitting around with snacks and drinks talking about whatever crossed their minds.

Honestly, she’d done something similar with the group her parents insisted she hang with, but those conversations were focused mainly on fashion (which she didn’t mind once in a while, just not _all_ the time) and belittling others (which truthfully she never liked to do). It may have just been the company, but she had a much better time talking with the ‘Hexsquad’, as Luz loved to call them.

Luz had just finished explaining what a ‘slinky’ was and how to use it when she noticed that all their drinks were empty.

“Whoops, outta drinks. One sec, I’ll get refills,” she said, grabbing their glasses.

“I’ll help!” Gus exclaimed, grabbing the two closest to him and following Luz to the kitchen.

Leaving Amity and Willow where they were on the couch.

Alone.

In what soon became a very awkward silence.

Amity could feel herself tense up as the situation dawned on her. She and Willow hadn’t been alone together since...well, the day they both met Luz.

When Amity acted like a bully to her former best friend. For absolutely no reason.

If asked, the witchling would be unable to explain why she had continued to be mean to Willow over the years. Maybe to ensure her stubborn friend didn’t try to rekindle the friendship Amity was forced to ruin in order to keep the other girl safe? At any rate, Amity knew a few weeks of _not_ being as mean as she used to didn’t even begin to make up for the years lost between the two of them.

And now she was sitting alone in a room with her.

Not exactly an ideal situation.

 _What do I do?_ Amity asked herself. _Should I say something? Should we just wait until Luz and Gus come back?_

As the green-haired witch deliberated over what to do, she was oblivious to the fact that Willow was doing the same.

 _Wow, this is awkward,_ Willow thought. Peeking out of the corner of her eye, she took in Amity’s tense form. With a shock the plant witchling realized that for the first time in what felt like years she could actually read the youngest Blight’s body language. Ever since that fateful day when Amity pushed her away (for her own good, as it turned out) the witchling had seemed to have a wall built up around herself, keeping anyone from seeing what she truly thought about anything.

But now, now that wall was gone and Willow felt that she could _actually_ tell what Amity was thinking. She felt a second of excitement before realizing that what she was reading off the other witchling was something like anxiety, tinged with...guilt, maybe?

It didn’t take a genius to guess what exactly could be bothering the Blight.

Willow bit her lip, wondering what to do. She wanted to comfort Amity. She used to be able to so easily, but it’d been so long…

 _When did this get so hard?_ she thought, knowing exactly when but refusing to dwell on it too much. Unwittingly Willow huffed out a humorless chuckle at their predicament.

“What?” Amity asked, snapping out her stupor.

“Ah, sorry! It-it was nothing,” Willow tried to laugh it off. To her surprise, Amity chuckled as well, before dragging her hand down her face tiredly.

“When did this get so hard?” the green-haired witchling mumbled to herself, just barely loud enough for Willow to catch it.

“I just thought the exact same thing!” the plant witchling confessed, blushing at her own outburst.

“Really?”

“Yeah, it’s like…” Willow sighed, “...We used to be the best of friends. Could always cheer the other one up! But now…”

“Now, it’s like we’ve forgotten,” Amity finished for her.

“Exactly!” the plant witchling beamed even as Amity seemed to sink deeper into the cushions.

“Gee, I wonder whose fault that is,” the witchling mumbled, glaring at the floor.

“Your parents,” Willow stated with such ferocity that Amity half expected her to grow thorns.

 _“My parents_ aren’t the ones who yelled at you and treated you like garbage for, like, seven years!” Amity argued.

“Which you only did to protect me!” the plant witchling asserted. _“Granted,_ it wasn’t the _best_ way to do it, but it did the trick; I made it into Hexside.”

“Yeah, and all it took was me destroying the best friendship I had…” Amity groused, still looking at anywhere but Willow.

Willow shouldn’t have been surprised, and yet– _“I_ was your best friend?” The young Blight finally met Willow’s eye with an empty smile.

“Willow, you were my _only_ friend. The only one that mattered at least.”

“Aw, Amity,” Willow cooed, even as Amity’s smile faded away once again to a look of guilt over her actions. She sighed, realizing that Amity wasn’t going to forgive herself anytime soon. Truthfully, she wasn’t even sure if _she_ fully forgave the witchling for the years of torment, but...she was tired of not having her old friend back.

And tired of not doing anything about it.

Amity had changed so much in such a short amount of time, thanks entirely to Luz’s influence. That human really had made their lives that much brighter since entering them.

 _What would Luz do in this situation?_ Willow wondered. Knowing the American, probably something like–

“Okay, you’re right,” Willow said, breaking the silence that had fallen back between the two of them. “You completely and utterly destroyed the friendship we had when we were kids.”

“Wow,” Amity said, wincing, “Never have I hated being right more.”

“Shush,” Willow teased, poking her shoulder, “I’m not done. You destroyed that friendship, _but_ –” she put great emphasis on the word and gave such an exaggerated look that Amity couldn’t help but crack a smile. “–That doesn’t mean we can’t start a _new_ friendship!”

Amity stared at Willow in shock for a few seconds, before a glimmer came back into her eyes. Coughing and covertly rubbing at them, the witchling played along.

“I don’t know, Park. You _sure_ you wanna be friends with some bratty snob of a rich kid?”

“No,” the plant witchling stated bluntly, before smiling softly, “But I wouldn’t mind being friends with someone willing to break their leg to keep her teammates safe.” Amity blushed and scratched the back of her head as Willow extended her hand out. “Friends?”

The green-haired witchling grinned and took the hand, “Friends.”

As they shook on it, Willow’s grin gained an almost evil edge.

“Besides, I can’t really tease you about your crush on Luz if we’re not friends, can I?”

“Pft- _what?!_ Ha ha, wha-what crush? I don’t have a crush!” Amity sputtered, face going even redder as she released Willow’s hand to begin tapping at her knees nervously. “He-hey, speaking of my so-not-a-crush, what’s taking those two so long with the drinks, huh?”

“That...is a very good question,” Willow admitted. “They should have been back by now–”

“Annnnd we’re back!” Luz cheered as she and Gus finally wandered back into the living room. Each was carrying two glasses...and also had an almost green hue to their skin.

“Sorry it took so long,” Gus said, placing glasses in front of the seated girls.

 _“Apparently_ Eda put some test potions in the fridge. In the same kind of jug as the juice,” Luz grinned sheepishly. “Took us a minute to figure out which were potions and which was juice.”

“...I take it you found it out by taste-testing them?” Amity asked cautiously.

“Yeah! How’d you guess?” Gus wondered

“...You two are green,” Willow answered.

The two looked down at themselves and seemed to realize their predicament at the same time. Gus’s reaction was to make a distressed sound in the back of his throat; Luz simply shrugged it off.

“Eh, hazards of living at the Owl House,” she said nonchalantly, used to this kind of shenanigan by now. “Hope you two weren’t bored while we were gone?”

Amity and Willow shared a look, both gaining small smiles.

“Nah, we were good,” Willow said.

“Just hanging out...and being friends,” Amity finished, a contented look on her face.

“Great!” Luz grinned. “Now, back to the ‘slinky’. The _best_ part of a slinky, is pushing it down the stairs.” As Luz got up to demonstrate, Amity and Willow shared another look. They still had a long way to go–

–But with a little bit of work, they would make it.


	19. Conjuring

Lilith liked to consider herself a patient woman ( _ especially _ in comparison to her sister) but at the moment she was struggling to contain the growl that was working its way up her throat.

She was seated at the kitchen table, glaring at the piece of paper placed at its center while surrounded by crumpled, soggy, or frozen pieces of her own. Ever since she had shared Eda’s curse and severely limited their respective magic, the sisters had been learning with Luz about glyph magic. To help, Luz had drawn the ones she’d learned so far on a piece of paper that all but lived in the kitchen now as a reference; each with an incomplete outer circle so that they wouldn’t accidentally activate.

Duplicating the drawings wasn’t too difficult, and once that was accomplished, activating them was just a matter of tapping the glyph. However, Lilith found herself  _ struggling _ with the next step; dictating what specific effect she wanted the glyph to manifest when used.

Luz seemed naturally inclined to knowing how she wanted her spell to operate, once she had used a glyph a few times. Lilith had personally witnessed her use a fire glyph to light a candle, melt solid metal, or simply warm up a mug of some beverage she called ‘hot cocoa’.

What perplexed Lilith– and Eda, though the witch would never admit it aloud willingly –was that each of these effects could be done with the exact same glyph, drawn at the  _ exact _ same size.

Magical theory stated that a spell’s power level was in direct proportion to the size of the circle drawn to cast it  _ and _ the power of the witch doing the casting. For example, two witches could each cast a fireball using the same sized circle and the size and intensity of the fireball would vary depending on their individual power and skill levels.

Aside from a few circles drawn freehand in the heat of the moment, all of Luz’s circles were roughly the same size and yet each held the ability to be used in a variety of ways, even doing things that seemed far too advanced for such a novice spellcaster. It was uncanny and puzzled Lilith to no end.

Hence why she was currently sitting alone in the kitchen so late at night, trying to get a handle on the ‘varietal execution of glyphs’, as she deemed it in her head. She’d hoped that by gaining a better understanding of glyphs she could then gain a better understanding of how humans perform magic and the link between glyphs and the way magic used to be done long before Belos ever existed.

Thus far; she wasn’t doing great.

To keep things simple, she decided to work with the ice glyph to make different shaped ice mounds. Making a small cylindrical column with a flat top was easiest, but she was struggling to make  _ literally _ any other shape. Her goal was just a simple stalagmite of ice, a cone with a wide base and a needle point at the top, yet with every tap all she got was that same flat top column.

It was  _ infuriating. _

Normally when casting a spell, all one had to do was envision the specific spell they wanted and then cast it. Some spells were naturally more complex than others, but with time became easier and easier to cast and with greater effect.

When describing how she did different spells, Luz all but stated the exact same thing; so why was Lilith struggling so much to duplicate her process?!

Allowing the growl to escape her throat, Lilith tossed yet another failed ice mound into the bucket beside her and plopped her head onto one of her hands, mulling it over yet again.

_ Perhaps my experience with ‘bile-sac’ magic is impeding my transition to glyph magic, _ she wondered, glaring at the ice glyph. It was as plausible a theory as any, and would explain why Luz seemed to advance more rapidly. Being untrained in “traditional” magic, she wouldn’t have to unlearn any habits that would, in actuality, hinder her glyph casting.

Thinking of how her mental pathways could possibly be different from Luz’s, due to everything from different ages to different  _ species _ , Lilith failed to notice the form walking up behind her.

“Whatcha up to, sis?” Eda asked directly into Lilith’s ear, causing the elder Clawthorne to nearly leap completely out of her seat.

“Edalyn, don’t do that!” she growled, grabbing at her pounding heart. “You  _ know _ I hate it when you do that!”

“Then pay better attention to your surroundings,” Eda teased as she waltzed around and took the seat opposite of Lilith. “I could have picked your pockets three times!”

“No you cou-” Lilith’s retort died as she watched Eda pop a candied eyeball into her mouth. Feeling her pocket she was dismayed to find that it was one of hers. “Hey! I was saving that!”

“Too late, gone now,” Eda mumbled, her mouth still full of the treat. Swallowing she surveyed the mess that was the kitchen table. “Practicing glyphs?”

“Of a sort,” Lilith growled, dragging her hand across her scalp.

“Thought you’d memorized these guys already?”

“I did. But…” for a moment the witch debated on keeping her struggles to herself. She hated showing weakness– something she and Eda had in common –but she’d been at this for hours and was no closer to a positive result.

“But...?” Eda prompted, curious about what her sister was working on. Lilith swallowed her pride and decided to let her in.

“...I’m having trouble conjuring different spells from the same glyph. Like Luz does.”

Eda chuckled and smiled warmly at the mention of her apprentice. “Yeah, that kid really is something, isn’t she?” She leaned on the table and absently drew a light glyph with a small puddle of water; her face literally lighting up as she succeeded in activating it. “Kid pops into this world, with  _ zero _ magical training or natural ability, and in the span of a  _ week _ rediscovers an ancient way to cast spells.” As Eda stared at the small ball of light she’d created, Lilith watched how her eyes seemed to be glowing from the pride she felt for a girl she’d only known a scant few months. It tugged at something in the older witch’s heart, but she couldn’t quite name what.

“...She is indeed, quite extraordinary,” she admitted quietly, drawing her own light glyph and getting it to float alongside Eda’s. “...I’m sorry for ever implying she wasn’t.”

“No point in moping over what was done before, Lily,” Eda stated, sounding wise for once. “All we can do is learn and try to do better tomorrow.”

Lilith chuckled, “When did you get so smart?”

“I’ve always been smart; I got  _ wise _ through a lot of trial and error. Mostly error. And a little fire. ...Okay, a  _ lot _ of fire.”

“Heh, yeah, that sounds about right,” Lilith smiled, dragging her hand down her face tiredly.

“Hey,” Eda called softly, gaining her sister’s attention. “How’s about you walk this ‘wise old bird’ through your spell process and we see if we can figure it out between the two of us? Whaddya say?”

“...I’d say that sounds pretty nice,” Lilith said, blaming any and all burning in her eyes on the lateness of the hour as the two of them put their heads together to try and figure out a brand new kind of magic.


	20. Masks

Everyone wears a mask, whether they know it or not. Some are thin and clear as a pane of glass. Others are layered so thickly that not even the wearer really knows what dwells behind the last one.

And some are just literal masks.

“Alright kid,” Eda grinned as she finally emerged from the darkest depths of her closet. “You wanna  _ finally _ confess your feelings to Amity– and more importantly put the rest of us out of our misery of watching you two pine worse than trees –then  _ this _ is what you need! Behold–” she thrusted her hands out, an item held between them, “–the Mask of Self-Assurance!”

Luz eyed the object dangling from her mentor’s hands with no small amount of skepticism.

“Um, Eda? I appreciate the help–  _ seriously, _ I do! But...that’s not a mask. It looks more like–” she squinted her eyes and leaned forward for a better look. “–Is that a  _ moustache?  _ With string?”

“Of course! How else would you keep it on? Hm, unless you want to glue it…”

“Nope! No thank you! No glueing!” Luz winced, waving her hands. “I just got the last bits off from that arts and crafts project last week!”

“All the more reason for the  _ string!” _

“Ummm,” the human hummed, rubbing her arm apprehensively. “What, exactly, does it do?”

“To put it simply,” Eda said, switching to her ‘teacher’ voice, “It gives you the confidence to say whatever is on your mind! ...Small disclaimer, it doesn’t do the greatest job of  _ filtering _ said thoughts. ...Smaller disclaimer; it also causes you to speak in a very weird and probably offensive accent. Wanna try it on?”

“...Couldn’t we try roleplaying first? I don’t think I’m quite this desperate yet.”

“Ugh  _ fine _ ; we’ll try it the honest way first,” Eda moaned, tossing the ‘mask’ back into her closet. “Kids these days, with their wanting to do things the hard way nonsense.”


	21. Crossover

Gogo blew a bubble until it popped. “So let me get this straight; you’re saying that this is an alternate dimension.”

“That’s right,” Luz beamed, handing out cups of...what could be referred to as ‘tea’.

“Full of d-demons, witches, an-and monsters?!” Wasabi stuttered, his cup clattering as he shook.

“Mhm!”

“Which in turn inspired pretty much  _ all _ of the myths on our world!” Fred grinned, loving every single second of this.

“Correct!”

“Bu-but that’s not possible,” Hiro argued even as he gazed around at the strangeness of the Owl House’s living room. “Magic doesn’t exist.”

“Hmph,  _ bold _ words from someone who dropped out of a portal onto the Mighty King’s doorstep,” King boasted as he strolled into the room carrying a plate of cupcakes.

“¡Ay, qué lindo!” Honey gasped as she caught sight of the tiny demon, immediately rushing over to take several pictures.

“Hey! That’s what I said!” Luz grinned as she finished handing out cups.

“Weh! How dare you!” King raged, stomping his little foot and dropping theplate onto the coffee table. “I am the King of Demons! I am formidable! I am feared! I am  _ not _ cute!”

Big Hero 6 glanced at Luz, who could only wave her hand in a so-so manner at King’s claims.

“Physically speaking,” Baymax said, scanning the demon, “Your size and proportions are an accurate representation of what most people would find endearing to look at. In short; cute.”

“Why you overgrown marshmallow abomination-wannabe!” King growled as he tried to leap at Baymax, only to be caught by Luz in midair.

“King! No! No mauling houseguests until  _ after _ they’ve attacked us!” she chided, trying to keep a grip on the squirming demon.

“I’m sensing anger and frustration,” Baymax monotoned. “Would you care for a hug?”

“I’ll hug your face with my fangs, you walking talking pillow stuffing!”

“King no!”

“King yes!”

“Let him try,” Gogo smirked while sipping her tea, “I wanna see how it goes.”

“Gogo,” Honey chided.

“What? He’s the size of Mini-Max without the tech. How bad could he be?”

_ “Yeah, _ sharp claws don’t mesh well with Baymax’s vinyl skin,” Hiro drolled absently as he leaned in for a closer look at a sword leaning against a wall.

“What’s all the hubbub out here?!” Eda barked, as she entered the living room.

“Eda! Eda look, I found more humans!  _ And a robot!” _ Luz grinned, still holding a struggling King. Eda blinked as she took in her crowded living room.

“...How do I keep attracting random teenagers to my house?”

“Because you actually listen and offer good advice that isn’t ‘just do what everyone else is doing’,” Luz said nonchalantly, not looking up as she adjusted her grip on the demon in her arms.

“...Darn my killer role models skills.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie, I may expand on this in the future  
> The idea of meshing Owl House fantasy with Big Hero 6 sci-fi is just so nice


	22. Oath

**_The Owl House_ **

Amity paced around the living room, anxiously rubbing her hands together while Eda watched boredly from the couch.

“Gahhhh, what if this is a mistake? What if we’re not ready?  _ What if Luz regrets ever meeting me?!” _

“Calm down Baby Blight,” Eda drolled, not even bothering to sit up from her slouched position. “This isn’t a mistake, you’re both so ready it’s sickening, and the kid’s absolutely head over heels about you. So chill.”

“Chill? Ha ha– _ Chill?” _ Amity laughed with a manic look in her eye. “Eda I’m about to swear an Evermore Oath with the love of my life!  _ How could I possibly chill at a time like this?!” _

Eda groaned and mumbled something about crazy kids and their drama as she finally hoisted herself off the couch and grabbed Amity by both of her shoulders, halting her frantic pacing.

“Amity Soon-to-Be-Noceda Blight,” she intoned seriously, staring the younger witch dead in the eye. “Repeat the last thing you just said.”

“...how could I possibly chill at a time like this?”

“No no, the bit before that!”

“...I’m about to swear an Evermore Oath?”

_ “Oh for Pete’s _ – to the love of your life!” Eda groused. “You are about to swear that you plan to spend the rest of your life,  _ with _ the love of your life! Focus on that part! Yes it’s scary.  _ Yes, _ it’s like,  _ the most _ serious thing you could do on this or any other world! BUT–” She shook Amity, who was looking a little pale, for emphasis before gentling her tone, “–You are doing this with  _ Luz. _ The kid who’s been stuck to your side since she met you. Who took on Grom for you. Who told off  _ your parents _ for you. There’s not a doubt in mind that that kid wouldn’t try to move the whole of the Isles for you, and probably succeed! It’s  _ okay _ to be scared; so long as you understand that she’s right there with you, every step of the way.”

Amity sniffled, hastily wiping away a tear before it could ruin her makeup. “Do you really think so?”

“Absolutely,” Eda nodded sagely. “Matter of fact, you two are so in-sync I bet she’s freaking out about this whole thing right now too.”

“...I-I don’t think that makes me feel better…”

**_Meanwhile, at the Noceda House_ **

Luz took several deep breaths and tried to keep her nausea at bay. 

“C’mon, Noceda. You got this! You’ve faced the worst the Boiling Isles has to offer! You can handle this!”

She’s fine. It’s fine. Everything is  _ fine. _

...She’s totally gonna puke.

_ “Mija?” _ Camila called, knocking on the door. “Is everything alright in there?”

“Uhhhhhhhh,” Luz moaned uncertainly.

“I’m coming in,” her mother said, poking her head into the bathroom. She found her daughter clutching the sides of the sink and looking decidedly greener than usual. “Oh, _ mija _ …”

“Heh, hey Mom,” Luz called weakly, catching Camila’s eye in the mirror.

“You okay, sweetie?”

“Who me?  _ Pft! _ ‘Course I’m fin- _ hrk!” _ Hand flying up to cover her face, Luz twisted and slammed the toilet lid up just in time to empty the contents of her stomach into the bowl.

_“Claro está,”_ Camila sighed as she entered the bathroom fully and closed the door behind her. “ _ Of course  _ of all the things to inherit from your father, you got his pre-wedding jitters.”

“N-not helping!” Luz moaned, not lifting her head up from the bowl.

_ “Discúlpame...” _


	23. Garden

"Eda–  _ huff _ – are – we –  _ huff –  _ there –  _ yet?!"  _ Lilith puffed as she paused in her trekking to grab both of her knees, lest she fall all the way over.

"Aw, what's a matter, Lily?" Eda teased, barely winded from the hike through the woods. "Not get enough exercise as leader of the Emperor’s Coven?"

"There's– oh titan –there's a  _ lot _ of paperwork needed to run a coven,  _ Edalyn!" _

“Yes, I can see that,” the younger sister grinned as she continued traipsing down a barely-there path. “But to answer your question, oh sister dear,  _ yes, _ we are almost there.”

“Remi– _ pleh!” _ Lilith gagged as a wayward branch smacked her in the face.  _ “Grrr! _ Remind me–  _ huff _ –why  _ I _ was the one–  _ huff _ –who had to come with you today?”

“Because Luz had an important test she didn’t want to miss–  _ despite _ my encouragement –and King was up all night doing...I don’t know,  _ something? _ Soooo that leaves you to help me with this little chore,” Eda explained, grinning cheerfully.

“Right! And _you_ _said_ that this ‘little chore’, was just gathering ingredients for your potion orders. So _why_ are we in the middle of the woods instead of the market?!”

“Pft– you expect me to waste  _ money _ on that stale garbage they sell in the market?” Eda scoffed disbelievingly. “As if. Nope! We’re getting  _ fresh _ ingredients! Direct from my own garden!"

"Oh please," Lilith rolled her eyes. "As if you'd have a garden way...out... _ whoa." _

Coming around a massive tree, the forest suddenly parted to reveal what could only be described as a potion witch's dream. The small clearing seemed to be absolutely  _ littered _ with several varieties of plants, each containing a multitude of ingredients, from leaves to stem to roots. To say Lilith was astounded would be an understatement. 

"Eda you...you did this?" she gasped, gazing in awe at the wild looking garden. There wasn’t a straight row to be seen, but clearly some thought had been put into where each species was planted. Also absent was anything even resembling a fence or barrier. "How in the world do you keep this all the way out here? Don't wild animals bother any of the–  _ are those pappy doe apples?!" _

"Yup," the Owl Lady grinned, picking a few of the ripe green fruit. "I prefer the flavor of pappy doe blood to the usual silver scrumptious, so I started growing a tree a few years back." She brought one close to her face and took a dramatic sniff. "Awwww, you can already smell the  _ zing." _

"I must say Eda, this–this is  _ beyond _ impressive," Lilith gaped as she absently began picking some of the ingredients she knew Eda used the most. "It’s been years since I took that basic plant class and even  _ I  _ can recognize that a lot of these aren't just uncommon– and in some cases  _ rare _ –but  _ notoriously  _ difficult to grow as well!" It was true. Lilith had often checked in on the other covens, and the plant coven boasted the largest greenhouse on the Isles. But of the few species she recognized from the coven, Eda’s seemed far more lush and vibrant. 

"How did you do this?" she asked her sister in awe.

"Well, jeez, it wasn’t all that hard," Eda blushed, taken aback by the sudden praise. "I found almost all of these growing wild in their natural habitat across the Isles, brought'em here, used other plants to mimic the best environment for them and– voila! Fresh ingredients on demand!"

Lilith just stared at her sister in disbelief. She'd long grown used to Eda’s boastful way of explaining how she did anything (and more often how "amazing" she was at it). So to see her almost  _ modest _ about what was truly an extraordinary feat was... _ jarring  _ to say the least.

_ She really was better than me, wasn’t she,  _ Lilith thought morosely as she continued to harvest ingredients. The two worked diligently for a while, the silence occasionally broken by Eda's spontaneous explanation of how this plant helped to repel beasts that would eat her garden, while another supplied just the right amount of acid in the soil for a third species to grow.

Eventually they had everything they had come for and got ready to haul their harvest back through the woods. Feet aching still from the hike in, Lilith groaned depressingly.

"Eda, why in the name of the  _ titan _ did you make your garden so far away from the Owl House?!"

"Look, I know it's not convenient, but I started this plot  _ years _ before I made the house," Eda explained, tying off her bundle before hauling it onto her back. "Besides, if it were any closer then I'd have to worry about keeping Hooty out of it and that's just not happening."

"Yes, I suppose that makes sense," Lilith reluctantly agreed, moving to stand next to her sister, a sack also on her back. "And this does seem like an unreasonably excellent spot to grow a wide variety of plants, so I can see why you'd be remiss to move it. ...How did you find this spot anyway?" she asked as they began walking.

"Aw, I got an ex-boyfriend that lives around here. He's the go-to gardener for a lot of bigwig families with more money than sense. He showed me this place annnd I kinda took it over."

"Ha, yes that does sound like– wait…" Lilith stopped in her tracks. " _ What _ bigwig families?" Eda just continued walking, calling her response over her shoulder. 

"Oh you know, the Hemmlockes, the Magnes...and the Blights."

"Edalyn Clawthorne, don’t you  _ dare _ tell me you are growing an entire garden on the private property of one of  _ the most _ powerful and influential families on the entire Boiling Isles!"

"Alright, I won't," Eda grinned, shooting Lilith a grin over her shoulder before picking up the pace. "Now unless you want to run into some grounds-patroling goon types, we better hustle; these babies ain't gonna brew themselves!"

"EDA!!!"


	24. Fierce

Standing atop his parapet, Emperor Belos contemplated the first time he met the human known as Luz Noceda, as he gazed across the battle taking place just beyond the edge of his castle.

She’d been a scrawny thing back then, though he had to admire the daring she had to try to steal one of his treasures from right under his own nose. She also got credit for breaking into the Conforitoriun to try and rescue her friend.

Still, at the time she was nothing more than a scared twig of a girl playing at being a witch. The human had a few tricks up her cloak, to be sure, but beneath it was still a scared little teenager, lost and crying for her mother.

Looking at her now though, Belos felt a minor twinge of something crawling up his spine; regret, perhaps? It had only been a few years since that day and yet the change in the human could not be more apparent.

She was still skinny, but seemed to have grown a few inches, the breadth of her shoulders spanning wider with age and experience. Even from where he stood up above he could see the frantic glint he saw in her eyes before was gone; replaced by a stalwart determination, and the strength to back it up.

Noceda was surrounded on all sides by members of his Coven, and in terms of physical size they were all her equal or bigger. And yet...she had a presence that dwarfed them all; a... _ ferocity _ that made even the bravest of them step back in caution.

And that was  _ before _ she attacked. 

When she did eventually strike, it looked almost majestic from his point of view, though the destruction was no less apparent. Troops fell in droves before her, spells of every variety cast at a speed far beyond what she’d performed previously in their little duel.

Perhaps he should have tried harder to bring her over to his side? Power like that would have been a great boon to his cause.

But after leveling an entire squadron of his goons, the human looked up towards the castle and, despite the great span of distance between them, locked eyes with the Emperor. 

In that moment, Belos felt the twinge again, but this time he managed to reluctantly put a name to it.

_ Fear. _


	25. Spell

Any student of the Boiling Isles school system will tell you that learning spells is harder than it looks. And that's while learning from experienced teachers and using tried and true methods.

Luz didn’t have that luxury. 

_ Yes, _ she was in the same classes as the other students but it wasn’t exactly an even playing field. Not only was she playing catch-up with peers who had  _ years _ of learning magic under their tunics– both in school and at home –but she had to find her own way to do things since she lacked a bile sac.

So Luz would spend a few hours whenever she could everyday looking for new glyphs. It wasn’t easy; the ones found in nature tended to appear as  _ tiny _ dots she needed a magnifying glass to see, and the ones that were a result of someone else's spellcasting (like Boscha's flaming grudgby ball) seemed to appear at almost random.

Still, Luz took solace in the fact that once she learned a particular glyph, she could then control precisely how it activated. The ice glyph could turn a floor into a skating rink, or shoot out as a violent icicle. All she had to do was focus on her desired effect and it would come to fruition once the rune was tapped. 

Her path was never going to be easy, but she believed with all her heart that it was far from impossible.


	26. Sweater

“Okay Amity, you can do this,” Amity muttered to herself as she stood in front of the Owl House. “Just go in– af-after knocking –say hi, do some chit-chat, and then just-just give her the present.” She looked down at the bag hanging from her clenched fists as if it could have vanished since the last time she had checked.

“You forgot to say hi to me, hoot!”

“Gwah!” the witchling shrieked as she leapt back from Hooty’s face, which had been mere inches away from her own.

“Hiya Amity!” Hooty said, his voice dragging down her spine like rusty nails on a chalkboard. “What’s in the bag? Did I hear you say present?!”

“You did– _but it’s not for you!”_ Amity growled, swinging the bag away from the house-demon’s nosy beak.

“Are you suuuuure, hoot? It could be! I mean, when did you last check?”

“I _‘checked’_ when I packed it, you oversized furry noodle!” the witchling snapped before taking several deep, _hopefully_ calming, breaths. “Is Luz home?”

“Maaaay~beeee,” Hooty droned, spinning in his door.

“Hooty.”

“Why should I tell you, little miss face-puncher?”

“I only punched your face because _it was touching mine!”_

“Hoot-that doesn’t make it a nice thing to do! Hoot!”

 _“Neither_ is invading other people’s personal space, you talking pipe-cleaner!”

“Hey! How’d you know I had clean pipes-hoot? Have you been spy~ing?”

“Wha- _no!”_ Amity denied, turning red. “I have better things to do than spy on annoying demons stuck in doors!”

“Like arguing with them?” a new voice giggled behind the witchling.

“Please stay out of this, Luz,” Amity groaned, dragging her hand down her face. “This is between me and the bird-tuuuuu-LUZ!” The witchling spun around to find the very human she had come to see standing behind her with a grin. On either side of Luz were her two housemates, Eda and King, both of whom looked like they were also enjoying the show.

“Ah, Luz, let’em keep going,” the Owl Lady chuckled, her arms full of shopping bags.

“Yeah! I wanna watch the cupcake-smasher smash Hooty!” the tiny demon cheered.

Amity muttered incoherently as she felt her intentioned plan crumble around her ears.

“Um, Eda?” Luz said, throwing her mentor a look that Amity didn’t quite catch. “Do you mind if…”

“Oh _fine,”_ Eda sighed dramatically, “C’mon King, help me keep Hooty away from the groceries.”

“Awww but I wanna watch,” Kind pouted as Hooty stretched out of his door and tried to shove his face into one of their bags.

“Oooooo~hhh! What’d ya get? What’d ya get!”

“Nothing that concerns you,” Eda drolled, kicking the front door open and snatching Hooty out of the bag as a result. She walked into the Owl House with the two demons on her heels, leaving Amity and Luz standing out on the front lawn.

Alone.

Together.

 _“Soooo,”_ Luz began, breaking the suddenly awkward silence. “What brings you around to the Owl House?”

“Uh, I- that is- um,” Amity stuttered, a few steps out of beat of the whole encounter.

“Is everything alright?” the human asked, unconsciously shivering as a cold gust of wind blew past them both. Seeing her ~~cru~~ _friend_ trembling in the cold, Amity acted on auto-pilot, putting the bag on the ground long enough to open it up and drag its contents out.

“Here,” she said, throwing the unbuttoned gift around the girl’s shoulders, blushing hard when she realized how close it brought their faces together before taking a hasty step back. Luz, for her part, just blinked in surprise before looking down to see what the witchling had draped onto her.

It was a long-sleeved sweater, one that was open in the front with a row of gleaming white buttons. It started off black at her shoulders, before banding to a few shades of gray, and ending at a wide white bottom hem. Sliding her arms through the sleeves, Luz was thrilled to find it was a perfect fit, and while it didn’t have a hood, it _did_ have two deep pockets in the front with button flaps.

“It-it’s getting cold out,” Amity explained as Luz fawned over the softness of the material, “An-and I thought that _,_ _maybe_ yo-you could use something...warmer than your cat hoodie?” She rubbed her arm anxiously, “Do...do you like it?”

“Like it?!” Luz said with such a shocked expression that Amity’s traitorous mind whispered that _no, she didn’t–_ half a second before the girl hoisted the witchling into her arms and spun her around like she weighed no more than a kitten, shrieking, “I LOVE IT!” 

The American _eventually_ brought the spinning to a stop, returning an apple-blood red Amity to the ground, but didn’t release her from Luz’s arms.

“You got this just for me?” she asked, eyes sparkling with more affection than Amity could really handle, though she managed not to pass out under the human’s gaze.

“O-of course,” Amity stuttered, not quite meeting Luz’s eyes anymore, “Someone has to make sure you don’t freeze before the semester ends.” She made an embarrassing ‘eep’ sound as Luz once again drew her in for a tight hug; though she was merciful enough to _not_ spin them around this time.

“Thank you,” Luz breathed sincerely directly into Amity’s ear. The witchling had to take a steadying breath– which was harder than it looked with the human’s surprisingly firm arms coiled around her –but Amity managed to bring her own arms up and return the hug just as fiercely.

“You’re welcome,” Amity whispered, scarcely believing she had done what she’d set out to do.

“And thank _you_ for the bag, hoot!” cried Hooty, his shrill voice ruining the moment as he shot out of the open door and face-first into the bag sitting on the ground beside them. “Hooray! Bag for Hooty!” He cheered, swishing back and forth, before his cries turned frantic. “Hoot- wait a minute! It’s dark! Hoot! Someone! Help! HELP!”

The two girls took three unperturbed steps back as the house-demon began thrashing every which way, his feathers ruffled and puffed up as the bag stayed comically attached to his head.

“...we should probably help him,” Amity drolled, though she made no move to escape from Luz’s hold.

“Eh, in a minute,” Luz deadpanned, much to Amity’s surprise. “He needs to learn how not to invade people’s personal space,” she explained with a wink, causing the witchling to stutter and impulsively bury her face into Luz’s newly sweater covered shoulder.

The material truly was soft– Amity had made sure that when she went looking for it –but the warmth it had gained from the laughing human wearing it made it seem even softer.


	27. Moon

Luz had been cleaning out a room for Lilith to have– the witch having _finally_ proven herself –when she found it. It had been sandwiched in a stack of books that were tucked away in a dusty corner. 

The brunette "ooh'd" when she saw them, and immediately got distracted from her task. Kneeling in the dirt and grime, she began shuffling the books to see what they were. Luz was delighted to find that they seemed to all be from the Human Realm and figured Owlbert must have dragged them over like he did with her Azura book. They weren’t in the _best_ condition, but seemed like they could still be read.

She’d started a list in her head of which ones were going to find a new home in her own room when a very familiar cover revealed itself and Luz felt her heart stutter almost painfully.

 _"Achoo!"_ Eda sneezed as she came back into the room for another haul. _"Ugh_ . Why does after-party me insist on stealing so many freaking traffic cones?!" Spotting her apprentice sitting in the corner, decidedly _not_ working, the witch called out, "Hey Luz! You can play with whatever dangerous artifact you found later. Come and help me move this porch swing!"

Eda continued grumbling for several seconds("Where did I even steal this from?") before realizing the human hadn’t moved a muscle.

"Luz?" she called again before finally walking over to the girl. "Kid I wasn’t kidding about the artifact; you can use its powers for evil _after_ we're don...Luz?! What's wrong?!"

Luz had turned her head up at her mentor's approach, tears streaming silently down her cheeks as she clutched a thin hardcover book in her hand.

"Luz? C'mon talk to me kid," Eda pleaded, dropping to her knees beside the human. Luz blinked and seemed to notice Eda’s presence for the first time. 

"Eda? _Ah,_ sorry sorry," she said wiping her eyes with a grimy hand. "I, I uh, got... _distracted,_ tha-that’s all." With a sniff, she carefully placed the book back on top of the pile and stood up with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. "Alright! Cleaning mode: reactivated!" Grin still a bit shaky, the human darted around the still kneeling witch and got back to work moving things out of the room.

Eyeing her apprentice worriedly for a moment, Eda turned back and gently picked up the book Luz had been holding. It was an old looking book, the corners and edges rubbed smooth with time and a thousand hands, but the cover was still legible enough for her to see the illustration of a room boldly colored bright green and red. It looked like a children's book and the simple yellow text at the top proclaimed itself to be–

"Goodnight Moon?" Eda read aloud, literally _hearing_ Luz flinch at the name as whatever was next to the teen clinked together loudly as her foot jostled into it.

"I...take it you know it?" the witch asked cautiously. 

"Um, yeah, a little," Luz answered, not turning around but not moving to continue cleaning things up either.

Eda hummed at her response. "Must be a pretty sad book if just looking at it made you cry."

"It’s... actually a pretty cute story," the human mumbled, absently wiping dust off of a piece of wrought iron fence. "It’s-uh...It’s just a little story about a rabbit saying goodnight to pretty much _everything_ in his room," Luz chuckled weakly.

"Well, that doesn’t sound too bad," Eda muttered, moving to stand by her apprentice, book in hand. Normally she would let something like this go, but the way Luz had looked… "Doesn’t really explain the waterworks though." The human rubbed at one arm, head down and looking smaller than Eda remembered. 

"...my mom used to read to me when I was little…"

Eda’s jaw clenched along with her heart as all the pieces snapped into place. Her nails began to dig ever so slightly into the book's cover and she was sorely tempted to use its pages as practice for her fire and light glyphs for even _daring_ to make Luz sad.

The witch took a stuttering breath as her mind raced to figure out what to do.

She knew what she _wanted_ to do. She wanted to go back in time and make sure Luz made it through the portal before it was destroyed. She wanted to rage and scream and rip Belos apart for daring to make Luz choose between two worlds and lives and families. She wanted to swear an oath to the kid that she would find a way to send her back even if it took the rest of her life and then some.

She wanted to do a lot of things– most of them impossible and/or illegal –but in the moment, and powerless as she was, she couldn’t. 

So she did the one thing that she could.

Dropping the offensive book haphazardly onto a pile of junk, Eda wrapped her arms around Luz’s shoulders and dragged her in for a tight hug. It said a lot about the girl's state of mind that it took her several seconds to reciprocate, but when she did it was with gusto.

Eda laid her cheek atop Luz's head as her thin frame began to shake in her arms with near silent sobs.

"Let it out kid," Eda mumbled, "It's alright; I'll catch you. I’m right here."

The witch maneuvered them onto the porch swing as the human did just that, sobs wracking her frame worse than anything Eda had ever seen from the usually sunshiney-bright girl.

King found them like that fifteen minutes later, and had to be physically stopped from tearing the book apart once he learns it’s to blame for his boo-boo-buddy's "inside hurty".

"King stop, it’s fine!" Luz giggles even as she still sniffles, the little demon thrashing in her arms. "Though I appreciate you wanting to defend me."

"Weh! 'Course I'm going to defend my best friend," he pouted, going limp. "Even if only from a thin book with a color scheme that hurts my eyes."

"You're not wrong," Luz conceded, finally placing him back on the floor. She picked up the book in question, rubbing the cover with her thumb fondly. "And I'll admit the story is far from exciting but...it used to be the only thing that could get me to fall asleep. Mom used to read it to me every night; sometimes _twice."_ Luz smiled fondly at the memories, wiping away another tear.

"...you really miss her, don’t you?" King asked quietly.

 _"Diario._ Every day," the human answered honestly. The demon thought about it for several moments before snatching the book with a "weh".

"Alright then! Since we can't get you and your mom together right now–" King exclaimed, marching to the door with the book raised like a flag of war, "–Then we shall just have to do our best! Come, friend Luz! I shall read this book on the couch and make you smile again! Ooh! We can even have snacks!" With a giggle he turned on his heel and scampered off for the kitchen. 

"Wha– _now?"_ Luz stammered, feeling mental whiplash. "Bu-but what about the cleaning?"

"Eh, what’s a few more hours," Eda grinned, sauntering towards the door. "Ain't nothing wrong with a midday nap, right kid?"

Luz stared at her mentor and felt a great warmth well up inside her. With a tiny squeal, she wrapped Eda in another hug before running after King to make sure he didn't eat all the good snacks first.

"It’s like a thirty page book you two," Eda called teasingly after them, "I don't think snacks are really needed."

"Just because they're not needed–" King yelled back.

"Doesn't mean they're not wanted!" Luz finished.

The Owl Lady shook her head with a fond smile and walked after both of them, musing about how the same could be said about a lot of things in her life.

Half an hour later, Lilith came back from grocery shopping to find all three of them nestled together on the couch, dead asleep, with the book open on Luz’s lap as King and Eda curled around her almost protectively. As adorable as the scene was– and Lilith _absolutely_ took several photos on her scroll for future blackmail purposes –the elder Clawathorne couldn’t help but sigh; knowing, in her heart of hearts, that her room _still_ wasn't cleaned up yet and she'd have to spend another night on the couch.

...Although maybe not even that if the trio continued to sleep as cutely as they were.

Even _she_ wasn’t mean enough to wake them up just yet.


	28. Memories

It felt like Amity had been searching the cells of the Conformitorium for hours when in reality it had barely been twenty minutes. All around her the walls echoed with the chaos of not only their group’s assault on the premises, but also of the prisoners rioting once freed from their respective cells.

_ Where is she, where is she, where is SHE!  _ Amity thought frantically, deaf to the gratitude of the prisoner she had just freed. All that registered was that it wasn’t who she was looking for and time was running out until reinforcements arrived from the Emperor’s Coven.

She came to another cell, the last one on the floor she was on, and could have wept when she spotted a familiar head of curly dark hair and a purple and white hoodie, curled up in the corner.

“Luz!” she cried, opening the cell and darting in.

The human looked up at the sound of her, but rather than leap for joy at the sight of the witchling Luz seemed to shrink even further into her little corner, drawing her hood up until only a pair of wide fear-filled eyes remained showing. Amity paused at the strange reaction, her heart skipping a beat before cracking at how... _ scared _ Luz looked.

And of  _ her, _ no less.

“Luz? What’s wrong?” she asked, slowly reaching a hand out towards the brunette, only to snatch it back when Luz flinched at the movement.

“Wh-who are you?” Luz stuttered, oblivious to how her words caused Amity’s heart to stop and her vision to narrow until it was just the two of them. “How do y-you know me? What’s going on!?”

“Wha– what do you think is happening?” the witchling mindlessly asked.

“I don’t know!” Luz cried out, tears started to escape her eyes. “I just- All I remember is-is going to school and then, and then I was  _ here–” _ she gestured to the damp, dark cell she sat in, “–and this freaky little lady  _ with a hand for hair _ was yelling at me an-and asking me _ weird questions, _ and I just- just-” the girl broke down crying and buried her face in her arms as they wrapped around her knees.  _ “–¡Quiero a mi mamá!”  _

Luz’s hood rode up her head as she sobbed and for the first time it registered to Amity that Luz had a massive bruise forming on her left temple.

_ She must have been hit in the head when they captured her, _ the witchling realized in shock. As soon as she grasped the fact that Luz  _ did not _ know who she was, or even  _ where  _ they were, she started to panic. The plan the group had come up with to break in and bust Luz out of the Conformitorium had been treacherous to begin with! But  _ now _ Amity had to contend with a Luz that had zero idea what was going on! Furthermore, Luz probably didn’t remember how to use her magic either, so that was yet another disadvantage!

Something on a floor above them exploded, causing dust to drift down onto their heads. Luz ducked her head down even further with a whine of fear and Amity nearly lost her mind, trying  _ desperately _ to come up with a way to convince Luz that she knew her and that they needed to go. Now!

Another rumble. This time with the battle cry of someone– Gus, maybe? Amity growled. They didn’t have time for this!

Luz whimpered again, and Amity found she  _ hated _ the sound with a passion she didn’t think she could have for a noise, nevermind one that was so...small.

_...I’ll just have to make time, _ she thought determinedly.

The witchling took a deep breath.

“Luz?” she called quietly, kneeling down on the floor. “My name is Amity...I know you don’t remember right now, and I-I know you're scared,” more yelling and rumbles echoed down the hall, “-but I need you to trust me.”

_ “Why?!” _ Luz croaked, barely lifting her head enough to see the witchling, eyes red with tears.

“Because I’m your friend!” Amity declared with more confidence than she truly felt at that moment, “And I  _ swear _ that I am just trying to help you!” A dull roar started to rise from outside; the reinforcements must be arriving.  _ “Please, _ Luz!”

Luz stared at her distrustfully and to Amity’s dismay shook her head.

“N-no! I-I don’t have any friends!” she curled back tightly into her ball and the witchling could have screamed or cried out of sheer frustration!

“YES YOU DO!” Amity did actually yell, though she immediately regretted it as Luz winced and tried to scoot even farther away from her. The witchling grasped her hair and bit off another scream. She  _ had  _ to convince her somehow, but  _ how?!  _ Her mind raced with possibilities but she dismissed them as soon as she came up with them.

_ List off the friends Luz has in the Isles? No, she’ll claim I’m lying. _

_ Perform magic to appeal to her love of all things magical? No; Titan knows what they’ve done to Luz since they caught her. I could only make things even worse. _

_ C’mon, Blight, think! What would convince Luz that I’m telling the truth...–! _

“Okay okay–” Amity said suddenly, making Luz wince again, but she ignored it and pushed on, “–Do you remember how in the third act of book five of the Good Witch Azura, Hecate got blasted through a wall after pushing Azura out of the way of an attack?!” The human’s head shot up at the mention of Azura and Amity could have wept with joy.

“Y-you read Azura?!” she gasped, terror at... _ everything, _ momentarily forgotten.

“Of course I do,” Amity grinned, a rogue tear very nearly running down her cheek before she stubbornly wiped it away. “I-I could hardly call myself a member of the Azura Book Club if I didn’t, now could I?” Luz’s eyes grew wide and the witchling pressed on. “After Hecate got blasted, Azura found her and tried to help her but Hecate wouldn’t let her–”

“–Because she couldn’t remember who she was,” Luz finished with a whisper, staring at Amity with something that could almost be called wonder.

“Exactly,” Amity confirmed. “...You’re Hecate.”

“...so you’re Azura…”

“Right,” the witchling held out her hand again but made no further move towards the human. Not yet. “I know that doesn’t explain everything; but I promise I’ll help you figure the rest out as soon as we get out of here. ...It’s a lot to ask, but I  _ really _ need you to trust me. Please–” Amity’s head jerked back towards the cell door as another explosion rocked the building;  _ this time _ on the very floor they were on.

She was debating on the merits of getting up to check on it when she felt a hand shakily grab onto her still outstretched one. Turning back back, she found Luz mirroring her kneeling position, staring at their clasped hands for a moment before looking up and searching Amity’s eyes. Amity let her look as long as she pleased, barely daring to blink, before finally Luz cracked a weak grin and wiped at her eyes with her free hand.

“Okay,” Luz croaked. “I trust you.”

Amity squeezed her hand in what she hoped was a reassuring manner, “Thank you.” 

They stood up off the floor, and Amity had to steady Luz– who nearly fell over from sheer exhaustion after everything she’d been through –by pulling her arm over her shoulder to keep her stable.

“Whew– okay! Bit whoozy there, but I’m gonna push through it and we’re gonna escape from this horrible, horrible place!” Luz exclaimed with no small amount of false bravado, one fist weakly punching the air. Amity giggled at her antics, relief that even a small part of her Luz was still there making her giddy.

_ “There’s _ the Luz I know and love,” she unwittingly said aloud.

“What?”

“What?! Hey! Wha-what are we standing around for! Let’s find the others and joint this blow!” Amity stammered, beginning to drag Luz towards the extraction point.

“...I think, I think you mean ‘blow this joint’?” Luz said bemusedly, once again debating whether she was in a coma-induced dream or ‘the bad place’.

“Either way we’re going and should stop talking about  _ everything! _ Okay? Okay? Great! Off we go!”


	29. Cards

Lilith held her cards in a death-grip as she warily eyed everyone seated at the table. The game had been going on for nearly an hour now; round after round of growing deception and rage all leading to this–

The final round.

It was going to be close.  _ Far _ too close.

_ If I can just hold on a little longer… _ Lilith thought, contemplating who would play what and the best way to react,  _ Then maybe I can– _

“UNO!” Hooty shrieked, spitting a green 4 onto the pile.

“Dang it, not again!” Amity growled; it was the fifth time the house demon had gotten to his last card in this round alone.

“How do you keep doing that?!” King asked, bemused at how he could play so well despite having no hands. Or arms. Or any limbs at all, really. 

“Just lucky I guess, hoot!” Hooty cheerfully replied as he ducked halfway down behind the small divider they had set up on the corner of the table for him so he could place his cards on it without the others peeking.

_ Ugghhhh _ , Lilith internally groaned as she eyed her sister, who’s turn it was next,  _ I don’t want to lose to that birdbrain. C’mon Eda! Play something already so I can have my turn and get rid of this damn Wild Draw 4 card! _

Eda pondered at her four cards, debating which to use when she caught her sister’s desperate looking eye. Mulling her options over, the Owl Lady allowed a truly wicked grin to spread across her face, much to Lilith’s despair. She  _ knew _ that look meant nothing good.

Maintaining eye-contact with her sister, Eda plucked a card from the end of her hand and dropped it nonchalantly on the pile.

“Reverse.”

“Edalyn you  _ absolute–” _

“BOOM! Final card! HOOTY WINS!! VICTORY HOOT!” Groans echoed from around the table as the bird tube wiggled ferociously in victory, not even bothering to tally the points up to make it technically official.

_ “E~da!” _ Luz moaned, plunking her head onto the table, “Why would you do that?!”

“Elementary, my dear Luz–” Eda smirked as Hooty continued to dance obnoxiously, “The house always wins!”

“Oh my–  _ Edalyn, _ I swear to Titan if you threw the game _ just _ to say that pun, I will murder you!”

“Lily, how could you  _ possibly _ murder me–” Eda asked as she slowly rose from the table, “–WHEN YOU CAN’T EVEN CATCH ME!” With a maniacal laugh, Eda was out of the kitchen before the kids and demons could even blink; Lilith hot on her heels.

“EDALYN LORRAINE CLAWTHORNE, YOU GET YOUR BUTT BACK HERE RIGHT NOW AND TAKE IT LIKE A WITCH!!”

As the “adults” began rampaging around the house, Gus turned to the rest of the table and asked if anyone was up for a game of old iron maiden. Everyone readily agreed, save for Hooty, who was still dancing.


	30. Fashion

“What’s that called?”

“That’s a t-shirt. It’s called that ‘cause when it’s laid out flat it kinda looks like the letter ‘t’.”

“Ah! And that one?”

“That’s a button-up.”

“Because it has buttons that go all the way up!”

“Corr~ect!”

Luz and Gus were currently seated side by side on the couch at the Owl House, flipping through an old human magazine Eda had in her collection. Luz figured that since she was learning so much about magic, the Boiling Isles, and the Demon Realm in general, it was only fair she answered whatever questions people had about the Human Realm.

Well...mostly it was just  _ Gus _ asking the questions, but how could she possibly say no to that face?  _ Plus _ it gave him something to “unofficially” share with his former Human Appreciation Society since his removal from the club.

Today’s topic of interest; human fashion.

Relatively speaking, the two realms had a lot in common when it came to clothes and accessories; the main difference between the two seemed to be  _ when  _ things were in fashion (see: cloaks and tunics not being common outside of old age Europe, but were contemporary in the Boiling Isles) and what those things were called.

“Wait– so you’re telling me, humans differentiate between different kinds of pants based on what material they’re made of?” Gus asked, bemused.

“Sometimes. For example,” Luz pointed to one of the models on the page they were opened to, “The pants this girl is wearing are called ‘jeans’. It’s the same kind of material as my shorts, only you would call mine ‘jean-shorts’.”

“Length is a factor as well?!” the young boy gasped. 

“As well as how the pants are cut,” the human added.

“Human naming tactics are fascinating,” Gus mumbled as he studied the pages further before noticing something odd. “What happened to this person’s pan– I mean, _ jeans?  _ Did he have a run in with a puffer-snake? _ ”  _ Luz looked and saw that he was pointing to a boy wearing jeans that had several rips across the thighs and shins.

“No no,” she giggled, “Nothing happened–  _ probably _ –his jeans are ripped like that on purpose; it was really in style for a while.”

_ “Intentionally  _ messed up clothes?” Gus furrowed his brow, before shaking his head. “Sorry Luz, but...that’s just weird.”

“Meh, you’re not wrong.”

“Did the loss of fabric cause them to be cheaper at least?”

“No.  _ Actually _ ripped clothes were more expensive to buy off the rack.”

“What?! But–but you could just buy  _ regular _ clothes and then rip them yourself? Why in the name of Titan would you pay  _ more _ for quantifiably  _ less?!” _

“Fashion is weird Gus,” Luz said, closing her eyes and shaking her head in a ‘sagely’ manner, “Fashion is weird.”

“...yeah okay, but that doesn’t answer my question?”

“Capitalism.”

“That just raises  _ more _ questions!”


	31. Letters

Luz sighed as she stared at the dark screen of her phone.

She desperately wanted to power the device up and record another video for her mom– or even just look through her favorite photo album starring just the two of them –but without the portal she didn’t have access to an outlet to recharge her phone. And Luz didn’t want to risk trying to use the lightning glyph Eda had managed to discover last week and accidentally frying it all together.

So, to preserve what finite battery she had left, she turned it all the way off.

Honestly it wasn’t  _ so bad _ without her phone. There wasn’t any internet without the portal anyway, and Eda had “acquired” Luz her very own scroll, so she could satisfy her need for photos and vids that way, but…something just didn’t feel quite right recording a video on her scroll for her mom.

Luz sighed again as Lilith walked into the living room where the human had chosen to pout, the witch immediately noticing the lack of the girl’s usual sunshine.

“Is everything alright, Luz?”

“Yeah,” Luz answered morosely. “Just...missing my mom.” Lilith frowned sympathetically.

“Still conserving your…’battery’?”

“Yup. I know it’s silly; a video is a video whether I use my phone or a scroll, but–”

“–It’s just one step too far from something familiar,” the witch guessed with her own sad sigh.

“Bang on the ding dang dot,” Luz sulked as she slid even further down the couch cushion into a position that looked very disagreeable to one’s spine. A small part of Lilith wondered how many vertebrae humans’ typically have, while a larger part pondered on what she could possibly say to help Luz. She’d only been an Owl House inhabitant for just over a month and already she had grown used to Luz’s  _ very _ upbeat attitude to the point that seeing her as anything less than optimistic was...just  _ wrong. _ And right now the human was looking so despondent that the witch could swear she's seen more cheer in the legal writing department of the Emperor’s Coven…!

–Now  _ there _ was an idea!

“Luz,” Lilith asked with a cautious smile, “In the Human Realm, did humans ever write things down on a piece of paper and send it to someone else far away?” Luz blinked at her for a split second before her eyes lit up and she was on her feet faster than a pixie could bite.

“A letter!” Luz grinned, tackling Lilith in a surprise hug that had the witch blushing and spluttering. “I can write Mom letters! I mean- I can’t  _ send them, _ but it’s closer! Lilith, you’re a genius! Thanks!” Releasing the elder Clawthorne, Luz bounded upstairs, presumably to start writing a letter right then.

Lilith stood frozen for several seconds, her heart beating overtime as she tried to come to grips with what just happened. That was the first time Luz had ever hugged her–

...When was the last time she’d even got a hug?

“First human hug?” Eda asked with a smirk from where she was leaning against the threshold to the living room, giving her sister a second heart attack.

“Eda, don’t do that!” Lilith groused, hand clutching at her chest, before realization struck. “Wait–  _ how long have you been standing there?!” _

“Long enough to confirm you’ve gone soft for the kid,” Eda grinned teasingly. Lilith blushed again, before clearing her throat.

“As if you’re one to talk,” she shot right back. “Don’t think I didn’t recognize the handiwork on that  _ Witch’s Wool Cape _ she has; for all that you grumbled about those knitting lessons mother forced on us, you  _ still _ had a knack for it.” Lilith grinned triumphantly as Eda gained her own mild blush.

“Yeah, well-...shut up.”


	32. Candies

"...You're pulling my leg," Luz said, grimacing.

"No? I'm not?" Gus replied, confused. "I'm offering you some candy? I'm not even close enough to grab your leg, nevermind pull it?"

"Human expression. My point is that I don’t believe you when you say that  _ that–"  _ she pointed to the object Gus was holding out, "–is an actual, legit,  _ eyeball;  _ that you fully intend to  _ eat!" _

"...Yes? What exactly are you confused about?"

"It’s. An.  _ Eyeball!" _

"Do humans not eat eyeballs in the Human Realm?" Gus asked curiously. 

"No!" Luz all but shrieked before correcting herself, "Well, at least not in America…"

"What's... america?"

"It’s the name of the country I live in; to be specific, its full name is the United States of America," the human explained.

"Ah. ...What's a state?"

"In America? Basically a bunch of counties grouped together." Gus opened his mouth but Luz cut him off, "States are divided up into sections called counties, and in counties you have all your town, cities, and what nots."

"...That sounds…complicated."

"You are correct," Luz agreed, nodding, "But I guess it kinda has to be when your country's so big?"

"How big is…'America'?"

Luz hummed as she tried to come up with something in the Isles she could use for comparison. She’d flown up high with Eda often enough that it shouldn't be too hard…

"Okay! So you know how it took us, like, half an hour to fly to the Emperor’s castle? Going at about, uh bu bu, twenty-five miles an hour or so?"

"I have no idea what that means but yeah, sure?"

"Right,  _ so, _ going at that speed it would take about," she mumbled some rough calculations under her breath, "–Mmm, five days, give or take, to cross the widest part of America."

"F-five days?!" Gus's eyes nearly popped out of his skull, the candied eyeball he was still holding plunking on the floor after it fell. To his disbelief, Luz nodded in confirmation. 

"Yup.  _ Not _ including Hawaii and Alaska."

"WHAT THE HECK DOES THAT EVEN MEAN, LUZ?!"


End file.
